The Sex Positive Fair has become a tradition of PRIDE Week, but this is the first year the fair is dedicated to the memory of Doug DiBianco, the founder of EIU PRIDE who died Feb. 6.

The Doug DiBianco Memorial Sex Positive Fair is the kick off event for PRIDE Week.

William Kendall, a senior art history major and the publicity director of EIU PRIDE, said it was fitting to name the Sex Positive Fair in memory of DiBianco.

“He always loved the Sex Positive Fair and he supported whatever we did that was radical,” Kendall said. “This is what he was all about and I think he would have liked to see the level of commitment and hard work we have put into it.”

The Sex Positive Fair is from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. today in the Grand Ballroom in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

Kendall said the Sex Positive Fair will be on a much larger scale this year because more people are participating in the event.

“This year it will be in the Grand Ballroom, which is unique because the Sex Positive Fair has been in the University Ballroom for the past two years,” Kendall said.

Kendall said the Sex Positive fair is also different this year because of the keynote speaker who is scheduled to speak.

“In previous years, we have searched inside the university to find speakers and, in doing so, we made it more local but this year we decided to hire Dr. Annie Sprinkle,” Kendall said. “She is a performance artist from California that has been in the business for many years now and having her adds a new level of legitimacy to the event.”

Nick Canaday, a junior Spanish and English major with teacher certification and the social director of EIU PRIDE, said Sprinkles is a radical sex educator and her controversial performance should be funny and interesting for others.

“(DiBianco) was all about raising awareness and providing education about sex and sexuality on campus and pushing boundaries as well,” Canaday said. “I think that Dr. Annie Sprinkles will embody that well with her lecture.”

From noon to 1:30 p.m. today students can join Sprinkle in the South Quad to eat lunch.

Kendall said the Sex Positive Fair will include carnival games, sex booths with informational displays made by students, HIV testing, talks about fetishes and free condoms.

PRIDE Week will continue at 9 p.m. Tuesday for “PRIDE Bowling” at the Charleston Lanes bowling alley.

“With the bowling event, it is more about promoting the community within,” Canaday said. “Everyone is welcome to attend but we want to get out into the Charleston community and form more solidarity that way.”

At 7 p.m. on Wednesday in the Phipps Auditorium in the Physical Science Building is the “Campus Wide Panel.”

“I think the big gay panel, which is the campus panel, is going to be more effective this year and a lot more well produced than it has been in years previous because it is more driven and it will be geared more to answering social questions,” Kendall said.

Canaday said he will be a part of the panel and each panelist will represent a different sexuality.

“We try to make it representative to everyone’s different sexuality because it is different for everybody and gender and orientation is different for everybody as well,” Canaday said.

PRIDE Week will continue at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Lincoln Bookstore in the Charleston Square with the “PRIDE Poetry Reading” event.

“We think the poetry reading will be a good time and a great way to access our creativity and to express our artistic selves in a really productive and safe context,” Canaday said.

Friday is scheduled to be the “Day of Silence” for PRIDE Week.

“It is an annual event where people interested in this form of protest can raise awareness about voices that are silenced every day by people who oppress the LGBTQ community,” Canaday said. “The day of silence represents what the world lacks whenever there are not gay people.”

Canaday said the last event for PRIDE week is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday at Morton Park titled “Gays in the Park.”

“PRIDE Week is about promoting your sense of community at Eastern and, by coming to these events, people are going to be accessing a different side of Eastern,” Canaday said. “People can benefit by potentially making friends, learning something new about sex and also to not be afraid to express themselves and talk about their interests in a very productive environment.”

Rachel Rodgers can be reached at 581-7942 or [email protected].