Pagowsky: It being safe, knowing yourself, and being honest with yourself and your partners through the physical act of sex, and/or one's own sexual persona. That goes for straight and LGBT issues alike.

Pagowsky: The fundraisers went amazingly well, especially the burlesque fashion show at the Slipper Club! We could have never made it so successful without the help of Cherry Pop Burlesque, and especially "Olive Talique" for emceeing all night, the Mad Rollin' dolls, and the designers. We brought in the majority of our funds from that one. WiSUC and Screamin' Cyn-Cyn and the Pons did another one at the High Noon which was a lot of fun. With the extra money now, we were able to pay for the Lost Film Fest movies, get t-shirts, and most importantly, are able to make donations to Planned Parenthood, the Warming Center, and the Infoshop.

Pagowsky: The last few months before the fest, I might wind up spending between 1-6hrs/day working on stuff.... maybe an average of.... wow...I don't even know. But I will say it is a lot. Although I have no qualms about doing it for free since I love it, I wouldn't complain if I got paid for all the hours I've put in, which is a lot! Especially with the planning for that fashion show, which took up of time!

Pagowsky: It seems to be appealing to more people other than just people that listen to very obscure music. The skillshares draw in another kind of crowd, and there is some variety within the music to have a broader appeal. We're trying to branch out more to include more of the community as well, especially local businesses and organizations who have our admiration and respect (all are listed here on the Slutfest website).

Pagowsky: It is oriented towards students since it is a university event, but because we are trying to make this more community-oriented as well. It draws people from a national source actually; people come from other states to go to Slutfest. That helps make it so much more fun because everyone can meet more people. Typically, average college-age is drawn in the most.... 18-24.

Pagowsky; I ask bands to come (or say yes to bands who ask) who I know are good, will draw a lot of people in, and/or who also have a good DIY value system. Any band that sends some promotional machine pamphlet to me with random jargon about their accomplishments is a huge turn off. Of course, if a band can make a living off what they love to do (make music, etc.) then all the power to them. There are ways to go about it that are not gearing to corporate America, though. Bands like that just pollute everything that is great about music and having a unified community.

Pagowsky I am very excited for Hewhocorrupts on Friday night -- they will be dressing up in drag again this year and playing as "shewhocorrupts." They have a ton of energy, are fun to watch, and are very engaging to the crowd. They have been around forever and are one of the best bands I've ever seen live.

Saturday will be fun to see Matt and Kim and Meneguar (Troubleman Unlimited), though they are playing early since they need to keep going on their tour. Black Cobra has members of Cavity (a major metal band), and Swing by Seven has played every year and are a staple -- they are fun and very good, musically. All the bands should really be a fun time though overall. The local bands playing are SFN, Murder of Crows, the Bracelets, while Straight to Your Brain is semi-local.

Pagowsky: It will add an element to the fest with a different point of view, by having a different form of communication other than music and talking. The films we will be showing will reflect the general culture of what the fest is made up of, as well as touching on topics of interest involving sex, sexuality, pornography, as well as one film about biking and critical mass, which is a staple of the activist, punk, and environmentalist scenes. It will also provide an opportunity for other people to come to the fest who might have a greater interest in films, or for people who would just like to sit down and take a break, and see some movies.

Pagowsky: I will be in the main room pretty much the whole time for all the bands. During the skillshares, I try to sit in for a bit and check them out, but people usually need to talk to me about stuff, or I take a break to eat. I am excited about the Cherry Pop Burlesque skillshare -- Angela Richardson did one last year and it was so much fun! It will be nice to have more skillshares about sexuality issues along with sex this year, since LGBTcc is coming as well. I am so glad not only the straight point of view will be expressed. One of the Lost Film Fest films also focuses on LGBT issues.

Pagowsky: I might be moving next year for law school, or just becuase job prospects seem more fruitful elsewhere. If this happens, I am hoping AJ Nordhagen might do the fest next year, since he has helped out all three years now. Sarah Kantor has helped a lot this year as well, and Meara Jones has planned out an afterparty.

If I do move, I'd like to perhaps also do a Slutfest wherever I go; there could be one here and one there. I love doing it, as crazy as it can make me, but I think it's totally worth it.

Pagowsky: I think my message is in a sense just a repeat of what's already out there. I don't think anything I say is extremely new or revolutionary; I just hope people become more aware of the bigger message out there by this combination of entertainment + education.

For the most part, I think it's preaching to the choir, since generally, people who would attend such event would agree with the message. If there was a way to round up a bunch of sexist, homophobic, god-fearing right-wing conservatives, then we might have something. Overall, my personal philosophy regarding these issues is strongly influenced by Camille Paglia. I guess the most unique thing about this fest would be my point of view on that, but otherwise, I hope people continue or learn more about being accepting of other sexualities and orientations, feel more comfortable with their own sexualities, and are better aware of safe sex practices and have more honesty with themselves and their partners.

For more about Slutfest, be sure to check out a Dane101 interview with Pagowsky from 2005 about that year's edition, as well as the festival's blog and myspace page.

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