IPAH #2 Presenters Announced

We had some amazing presentation submissions for Ignite Phoenix After Hours #2. Some made me cringe; others made me laugh; and some made me want to know more … just like the fourteen chosen presentations below. (Don’t tell me you don’t want to know more about dick crocheting, okay? I know what you’re like.)

So without further ado, I give you the presenters for IPAH #2:

  • Go Crazy for Art’s Sake. Michelle Burchfield
  • Sex, Booze & Massage Therapy. Shawn Carpenter
  • Sexual Types: Are You a Pit Bull Man or Antelope Woman? Amara Charles
  • Pornography: It’s All In The Title. Brie Copley
  • Strip Clubs Are a Girl’s Best Friend. Sheila Dee
  • Slash Fiction 101: Luke’s Lightsaber, Harry’s Wand & More. Dustin Diehl
  • The Evolution of the Sex Toy. Amy Donohue
  • SOCIETY IS DOOMED! AGAIN! and again and again and… Daniel Messer
  • Choosing to Die: When Suicide Becomes an Option. Jeff Moriarty
  • Cubicle Dweller by Day, Dick Crocheter by Night. Shana Ostrow
  • Polyamory: Yeah It Is All About the Sex! CA Sizemore
  • Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Gays but Were Afraid to Ask. Chad Swaney
  • Parables vs. Facts: Why We Know the Earth is Older than 6000 Years. Evo Terra
  • Burning Man. Shawn Vermillion

You want to see these presentations … which means you have to buy tickets. Tickets go on sale tomorrow (that’s TOMORROW) at noon on the Eventbrite ticket page. Tickets are ten bucks each. You must be twenty-one to attend the July 29th event in Scottsdale.

We would like to thank all the brave people who submitted presentation ideas for IPAH #2. We wish we could have ALL of you on the IPAH stage. Alas … Please keep an eye on the After Hours website for info about IPAH #3 and submissions!

Okay. Presenters, get to work! The rest of you, buy your tickets tomorrow!

Submissions are Closed for IPAH #2

She forgot to submit to IPAH #2. (drothamel on flickr)

Submissions for IPAH #2 are now closed. Sorry if you missed your opportunity at greatness … but there’s always next time, right? You can see a full list of IPAH #2 submissions HERE.

We will announce the official list of those who made the cut on Friday, July 8th, right here on the blog. Keep an eye out.

And don’t forget: tickets go on sale Saturday, July 9th, at NOON. Here’s a link to the ticket page. BE READY! They sell out FAST!

See you July 29th in Scottsdale!

36 Hours and Your Chance at Awesomeness is OVER

You now have thirty-six hours to submit a presentation to Ignite Phoenix After Hours 2. If you weren’t aware of this, where have you been? It’s time to think. Think! What do you have to share with your fellow Phoenician? What amazingly crazy thing happened to you that one time? What creepy coincidence changed your whole life? Or hey, why think so grandly? Think small, if you gotta.

Here’s a list of words to get your brain in overdrive …

Road Rage
Capital Punishment
Prayer in Public Schools (including the Pledge of Allegiance)
Literary Censorship
Marijuana
Social Ethics (or the lack thereof)
Political Correctness
Sex Education in Schools

Seriously, there are so many controversial issues out there that deserve discussion. Have a personal feeling about one of them that you’d like to share? Then get to it today!!! Thirty-six hours are left; after that, your chance at IPAH greatness will have passed until IPAH #3. You don’t want to wait that long for your next chance, do you?

You know the drill. We need:
Your name (or pseudonym)
Your bio
Your presentation description

Remember the rules:
You must be 21 and over to present AND attend.
Your presentation cannot incite hate.
Your presentation description should be safe for general consumption; your presentation can be anything but.

Now get your thinking cap on and head to the Speak page to submit your presentation. (Presenters for IPAH #2 will be announced Friday, July 8.) Thirty-six hours left! Tell your friends! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Tickets Go On Sale When?

Tickets for the first IPAH sold out in record time. We didn’t really expect the speedy sell-out; maybe we didn’t expect so many freaky Phoenicians to be so freaky and proud. We do expect tickets to disappear quickly this time, so we’re giving you plenty of time to prepare yourself to click that “BUY” button as many times as you like.

The official Ignite Phoenix After Hours #2 ticket sales begin Saturday, July 9th, at NOON. Bookmark our Eventbrite site so you’re ready. Tickets cost $10 each.

It's a party!!!!! (BruceTurner on flickr)

I’ve said it once. (Actually, I’ve said it several times.) No one beneath the age of twenty-one can buy tickets or attend IPAH #2. We don’t feel comfortable filling your innocent heads with whatever the presenters might say. Plus—the more legal reason—we’ll be in a bar. So if you’re under the age of twenty-one, don’t even think about it. I’m serious. If you even think about it, we will find you and take your computer.

Anyway … for those of you twenty-one and up, mark your calendars. I will repeat myself: tickets for IPAH #2 go on sale Saturday, July 9th, at NOON AM on Eventbrite. If you missed the first IPAH, you don’t want to be the Very Sad Person who also misses the second one.

Ignite Phoenix After Hours #2 will happen Friday, July 29th, from 7 to 9 PM at Radius Nightclub in Scottsdale. We look forward to seeing you there!

Wait, Shanna, you’re going to talk about WHAT?

We all remember Shanna Katz’s presentation from Ignite Phoenix After Hours #1. Don’t deny it; she talked about vaginal fisting. I KNOW you remember, okay? So what were the presentation after-effects? Read on …

Shanna Katz (Sick on Sin Studios)

Ignite Phoenix After Hours was my first experience with the whole concept of Ignite. I had a local ASU student email me, telling me she was super excited about the After Hours edition and wanted me to shake it up with some sex positive something-or-rather. As I come from a background of both theatre and creative education, I decided to take up the challenge of submitting a presentation idea … on Vaginal Fisting. In five minutes.

I cannot express how glad I am that I made that plunge. The experience of re-thinking my ninety minute class into only five was a great challenge for an educator, as well as an awesome reminder about what I really wanted to get across to my audience.

The night of, I was nervous. Most people have a skewed idea of what fisting is, and I was worried I was going to be booed off the stage or have some people making rude and crude jokes. Let me tell you; there is nothing in the world like the feeling of having a room full of tipsy people hold up “good fists” and “bad fists” when you tell them. Having watched my video, I loved the crowd’s energy and inter-activity.

IPAH was definitely a different experience than presenting on college campuses or in kink spaces. However, it was one that challenged me as an educator and gave me quite an emotional rush as it happened. I’d absolutely do it again!

Shanna, we would NEVER boo you off stage. That’s just how IPAH people are. We love to support each other, and we love to learn new things. What do you have to share with the IPAH #2 audience? Don’t forget: presentation submissions are due July 1st!