The thirdinternational Erotic Festival was successfully held in Prague this November. For 2 days from the 17th to 18th of November the exhibition hall Expo Letnany turned into a kinky party consisting of a fairy and living shows. For the first time this year the festival added fashion trends, plastic surgery, body art, whirlpools and other goods and services to its program not directly related to sex.
The festival targets a wide audience, ranging from curious individuals to tempted couples looking for the new experiences and last updates in the erotic world. The space of the Exhibition center was conveniently organized so that visitors and participants could walk around and take a look at every stand.
Not intending to shock visitors from the very first step, the festival’s space welcomed them with a mini exhibition of the erotic artwork of Slavomir Gibej. The Slovak and surprisingly unpopular artist created a collection of sculptures representing female silhouettes or individual parts of the body cast from cast models, and painted them in different monochrome colors with metal spraying.
Gibej’s artwork represented a total balance between frankness and vulgarity. It looked erotic, elegant and, more importantly, set the perfect mood for the visitors to enter the following bacchanalia of the festival.
The erotic artwork of Slavomir Gibej. Photo courtesy of gibej.cz
Most of the stands were hosted by all kinds of sex goods sellers: sex shops, private fetish show rooms, sex slings and sex machines, latex and leather fashion, e-shops, erotic photo studios, BDSM clubs, lingerie and sexy outfit boutiques and many others. Almost all of them provided some kind of testings for the visitors. Guests were more than welcome to touch everything, turn their devices on and take photos – tons of photos.
The most popular stands were interactive. The stand with the freakishly realistic sex dolls was especially successful. One of them was unpacked and the visitors could touch it and even try changing its pose as it was really flexible. The attempted poses were decent though – the lucky doll was either sitting or standing with some changing of her leg and arm positions. Most attention was concentrated on its silicon inside and thermoplastic elastomer on the outside breasts. Hard to blame people; they do feel real.
What else claimed to be real was the oral training in virtual reality glasses. Yes, it does exist, and in practice it is more funny rather than useful. Once the application is connected to the glasses on your head, it is activated, and you find yourself standing on your knees (or some other position, depending on your level) in front of a naked poorly animated man suspiciously looking like a Sims 2 sample.
Less interactive (if we don’t count taking Instagram pictures) was the threesome lesbian show as a promotion for the new whirlpool model. Judging by the number of spectators, it was a huge success and it was nice to note that they carried themselves in a decent and tranquil manner, as if they were watching a nice movie over the weekend.
Another impressive performance was the improvised rodeo arena with an automatic bull in its center where a model agency held a competition among its members. Nevertheless, it could not compete with another popular competition between the vibrators. Anybody could choose a model of a vibrator and put it on a racing field – a space divided on the tracks and somehow reminiscent of an inclined pool table. On the countdown the chosen vibrating devices were activated and the fun began. A more kinky and a little less fun neighborhood stand offered a demonstration of Shibari art. Directly translated from Japanese as “to tie”, shibari in fact is a type of ancient Japanese artistic rope bondage. This concept, unusual to the uninitiated, was successfully adopted and is widely used in modern BDSM culture. The whole performance was a little weird: bound by thick braided ropes and suspended on a huge hook a middle-aged man looked unperturbed and even a little bored. n there was no wonder that the basic principles of BDSM were respected and everything was safe, sane and consensual.
Moving closer to the end, it was hard not to stop by the Queer zone. On its entrance affable drag queens supplied the visitors with free samples of lube and condoms and invited them to enter the pavilion run by the two organizations: České sestry věčné radosti (eng.Czech sisters of eternal joy) – the local LGBT community – and Rozkoš bez rizika (eng. Bliss without Risk) – another non-profit social organization which aims to reduce the risks of STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) among vulnerable groups, namely sex workers. Inside, visitors could take an express HIV test, get a consultation on safe sex together with educational brochures, contacts for help, and all different kinds of merchandising. The most impressive one was the pink pin saying “Whores, not Wars” issued in the framework of a huge campaign for the rights of women involved in the sex business. Sadly, people did not stay long inside, attracted by the brightly dressed transsexuals, and expecting a show, most of the people were leaving the pavilion right after they bumped into the HIV testing machine.
Completing a journey through the crazy world of sex, the podium at the end of the exhibition space provided the visitors with constant performances. From the very morning till the late evening the tight program on the podium entertained visitors with Pole dancing, stripteasing for both men and women, workshops, and competitions whose names speak for themselves, such as “Miss Sugar XXL” and “Miss Erotica”.
Being in Prague for the third time, the Erotic Festival is becoming a tradition; Czech openness towards sexuality provides a perfect atmosphere and variety of goods and services amazes.
“I’ve worked in the sex business for more than 10 years,” says the striptease dancer Max, a yearly participant at the festival from Prague, “and every time I discover something new here. This world never stands still”.
Should it be said how much a person can discover not related to the sex business?
The entertaining and educational purposes of the festival were completed perfectly. However, a lot of misunderstanding was caused by the word “International” in the headline. Many of the stands could not provide any information in any language but Czech, not to mention that the only foreign exhibitors were Slovak. The festival also lacked promotion. Only very few low-quality posters were spread around the city, so this event was mostly known among its regular audience even though it would be entertaining and educational for other visitors too. Nevertheless, the festival was a success. The atmosphere was fun and friendly, and the excitement of both the exhibitors and the visitors was palpable in the air. It definitely should take place and attract more and more spectators in the coming years.
