The second-annual Venus Festival kicked off in the EMU Amphitheater on Friday and continued through the weekend, culminating in a banquet in the EMU Ballroom held Sunday evening.
The Venus Festival included entertainment, workshops, music and artwork. Festival Director Briana Faris said her goal was “creating a safe space for women of all different ethnicities and backgrounds to come together and celebrate their differences … many strengths can come out of those differences.”
There were informational tables and performances in the amphitheater on Friday. Many different groups — including Planned Parenthood, the University Health Center, Students for Choice, the ASUO Women’s Center, the University Student Fibers Guild and the Sexual Wellness Awareness Team — provided information about their organizations.
“Students for Choice is here to show support for the Venus Festival, to celebrate women’s issues and to provide information that’s helpful and pertinent to their lives,” Students for Choice representative Amanda Mabry said.
Some of the performers included Instructor Nadia Telsey doing a demonstration of self-defense, a group of University students who put together a dance and hip-hop crew Genus Productions.
On Saturday and Sunday, there were four hour-long sessions each day with multiple workshops. Saturday’s workshops touched on issues about oppression, men’s role in sexual violence prevention, transgender issues and sexual pleasure. It also included improv theater.
The sexual pleasure workshop was one of the most popular workshops of the weekend.
“Most people have sex because it feels good,” said workshop presenter Shelagh Johnson. However, she said men and women rarely have orgasms at the same time. Usually men reach orgasm much faster than women, so women should be stimulated before intercourse. She discussed the locations in men and women where orgasms occur, and she also talked about different ways of having sex.
“The anus doesn’t lie,” she said, referring to the pleasure or discomfort of anal sex.
Some of the workshops on Sunday included women and smoking; introduction to meditation; social consciousness in the music world; making jewelry out of junk; belly dancing and Krav Maga, a form of Israeli self-defense.
Junior Hannah Caron went to the festival on both Saturday and Sunday and said she enjoyed all the workshops she attended. Her favorite was the jewelry workshop where she made a necklace and an arm band from found objects.
“I have had an awesome time here,” she said. “There are so many cool activities going on. I’ve learned something at each workshop I’ve been to.”
However, Caron said she would have liked to see more people attend the festival.
“It boggles my mind why the turnout is so low,” she said.
The festival concluded on Sunday with an award banquet in the EMU Ballroom. Comedian Jessi Knapp performed a tribute show to other famous female comedians. The three women who received awards for their outstanding work for other women were self-defense teacher Telsey, cartoonist Jan Elliot and mayoral candidate Kitty Piercy.
Faris said she has high hopes for the Venus Festival in years to come.
“It’s such a great event,” she said. “It’s going to be the biggest event on campus in ten years. That’s my goal.”