Event looks to encourage positive conversations about sex
It’s the only event in Calgary where you can take part in a burlesque dance class and attend a seminar on the history of contraception, get a tattoo and watch a pole dancing demonstration all on the same day.
The Taboo Naughty But Nice Sex Show is back at the Big Four at Stampede Park this Nov. 8 to 11, and this year is sure to have something for anyone from 18 to 70.
Kevin Blackburn, show director, said he’s done his research in order to bring the latest in adult entertainment to Calgary. The event aims to encourage sexual education and awareness in a positive, safe atmosphere.
“We like the Taboo show to be an experience,” Blackburn said. “It’s not just a trade show, it’s an experience.”
Entertainers include former porn star Michelle “Bombshell” McGee and 
“Burlesque is all about the tease, all about the promise, not necessarily the delivery,” Lefebvre said.
Photo Credit Perry Thompson Photograph/ Courtesy of Diana Lefebvre Body Heat, a group of exotic male dancers. The Northeast Calgary Women’s Clinic will have an exhibit set up and will be presenting on the history of contraception.
Burlesquercise classes will also be offered to attendees interested in getting more actively involved in the festivities. Burlesquercise mixes ballet, jazz, and Latin dance together with props in a cabaret dance style. Creator Diana Lefebvre said the dance style is “classy, not trashy,” and aims to help women feel comfortable in their own skin.
Lefebvre will be teaching several classes of Burlesque 101 during the four-day event. With a basic introduction to the dancing style, Lefebvre said the goal of each class is to “get everyone giggling.”
Jennifer Skrukwa, a sexuality educator based out of Vancouver, will be back at Taboo for the 11th time. She will be presenting a variety of classes in nine different seminar blocks, including classes on fantasy play in the bedroom and on 50 shades of passion.
“It’s just most important that I get them to question what they believe for themselves,” Skrukwa said. “They don’t have to raise their hand necessarily to ask a question, but they need to be able to have it in their head that, ‘I need to question this, I need to learn something more…but I’m questioning what I know because this woman has presented me with
information different than what I held to previously.’”
Tickets can be purchased online for $10 or at the door for $15. The Big Four is located at 1410 Olympic Way S.E.