Press

For Immediate Release
Contact:
Julia Trops or Decoa Harder
250-215-0079 or 250-766-5522

Okanagan, BC – October 5 2010 – The Okanagan Erotic Art Show for 2010 will be taking place at Ex Nihilo Vineyards in Lake Country October 14 to November 9. The opening night will be Friday October 15 5-8 pm.

Marina Mason's Sensual Blossom made from Clay

30 Artists ranging from Okanagan Valley, Penticton to Salmon Arm, as far away as Toronto and from Philadelphia in the United States were selected to be in the show:

Tina Siddiqui, Angella Goodon, Foster Gauley, Miranda Aschenbrenner, Paul Butvila, Sam Windsor, Marina Mason, Trina Ganson, Wendy Penner, Lauri Copeman, Roxi Sim Hermsen, I Anna Mills, Wanda Woman, Tina Schnellert, Marissa Brown, Dan Irvine, Brazen Hager Edwards, Chris Edwards, Jim Britton, Susan Masarek Wilson, Nicholas Vincent, Julie Speers, Joan McEwan, Angela Bonten, Lisa Figueroa, Susan Neill, Jaine Buse, Marthe Primeau, John Swinton, Julia Trops, Sarah Parsons, and Lawrence Cormier.

A selection of work interpreting this year’s theme “Seduce me….” in mediums ranging from watercolour, oil painting, and traditional charcoal to clay, steel and fibre arts.

The event is free but donations to Canadian Cancer Society in support of Breast Cancer Research are very welcome. Hours are Monday to Saturday 10 am-530 pm.

For more information on the Okanagan Erotic Art Show please visit the website http://www.okanaganeroticartshow.com. Ex Nihilo Vineyards is located at 1525 Camp Road in Lake Country, and their website is http://www.exnihilovineyards.com. Both organizations are on Facebook.

In addition, Ex Nihilo Vineyards has created a unique, fun event unlike any other to bring women together in a festive atmosphere to support Breast Cancer Research. Titz-Elation will be held at Ex Nihilo Vineyards in Lake Country, BC on Saturday, October 23rd 6:30 pm to midnight. The money raised at this event will go to the BC Canadian Cancer Society in
support of Breast Cancer Research.

The event evolved as an extension to the Okanagan Erotic Art Show that is being held at Ex Nihilo Vineyards from October 14th to November 9th, and during the month of October which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. ‘I had a very special Aunt who
passed away at the age of 48 from Cancer that had originated as Breast Cancer,’ commented Decoa Harder, proprietor of Ex Nihilo. ‘It has been a personal goal to support Breast Cancer Research and Titz-Elation is exactly the kind of event she would have loved!’ Titz-Elation is a women’s only costume event that will include fabulous food, great wine, music, outrageous costumes, touching personal stories, and much more fun, games and prizes, including a ‘Spoil Me Silly Because I am Worth It!’ Silent Auction Table.

What is the connection between Breast Cancer and the Erotic Art Show? Ex Nihilo is hoping that the Art will help reinforce to women that although the breast is celebrated by many, it is only one part of our over all sensuality. But as breast cancer survivors will communicate, the breasts and early breast cancer detection are key elements to our over-all health. ‘We know that early breast cancer detection and mammograms change lives and alter the course of the cancer journey,’ commented Ed Millman of Canadian Cancer Society, ‘but the goal of Breast Cancer Research is to eradicate it.’

Tickets for Titz-Elation are $95 + tax. For more information on Titz-Elation please contact Decoa Harder by phone at 250-766-5522 or email decoa@exnihilovineyards.com

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Update as of August 16 2010: no word from Natasha Lacourse to me or to many of the vendors. She has been communicating with a collection agency, and one vendor that I know of has been paid back through that agency, but despite repeated attempts on the part of other vendors, there has been no direct return communication from Lacourse.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similkameen/kelownacapitalnews/news/100587184.html

Another attempt made to stage erotic visual arts show

By Jennifer Smith – Kelowna Capital News
Published: August 12, 2010 6:00 PM

The woman who runs the Okanagan Erotic Art Show is trying to turn artists back on to the annual sensual visual arts extravaganza.

Last spring, Julia Trops found her show in hot water when she tried to partner the local art display with a new event called the Xtreme Fantasy Sex Show, being put on by another promoter.

The pairing seemed logical as both shows explored a variety of aspects of sexuality.

“This was not going to be a dildo party,” Trops explained.

“The idea was going to be to include (things like) tantric yoga and the idea of psychology and the whole, complete, sensual side of a person.”

Trops felt teaming the local arts community with the fantasy sex show would give people a fuller, more sensual experience and was quite excited about the prospects for artists.

But when the promoter couldn’t tell people where the event was being held within days of the show, Trops and the arts community began asking questions.

A police file was opened, as people had paid to be in the show, and the Okanagan Erotic Art Show, now in its third season, had to be postponed with Trops promising the show would proceed once the smoke cleared.

Wednesday evening, Trops made good on the promise, re-opening the call for artists submissions.

Although the police matter for the Xtreme Fantasy Sex Show has yet to be resolved, and Trops said she cannot really talk about it, the art show itself is back on track with a new focus on drawing a wider range of talent.

“The first year was in the Rotary Centre for the Arts and it went over really well as it ran in conjunction with WAG (the Wearable Art Gala), so we had a lot of people interested in the more edgy side anyway.

“The second year was in a commercial gallery—that was Alissa Woodside’s gallery—and we had a huge turnout,” said Trops.

Initially, she figured the fantasy sex show would push the event to the next level as they had already done the community and private-type setting and were looking for something more.

“I just thought, lets make a big bang. We kind of did, but not the way I was expecting,” Trops said.

She is hoping extending the call to artists across the continent will help get the popular event back on track and continue to push the envelope.

The show will be held at Ex Nihilo Vineyards in Lake Country, Oct. 14 to Nov. 9.

Prospective artists can look at the requirements for the show at http://www.okanaganeroticartshow.com.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similkameen/kelownacapitalnews/entertainment/92469279.html

Sex show organizer flies the coup

Published: April 29, 2010 6:00 PM
Updated: April 29, 2010 6:19 PM

Sex sells, but artists and vendors set to take part in an erotic-themed event now know to couple that marketing concept with the old adage “buyer beware.”

For weeks local artist Julia Trops has been trumpeting the coming of the Okanagan Erotic Arts show. It was set to run in conjunction with an event called the Xtream Fantasy Sex Show that was to feature everything from healthy living information to belly dancing.

Slated to start today and run throughout the weekend, the show’s future started to look dodgy weeks ago when the organizer couldn’t nail down a locale and then seemingly disappeared.

That’s when Trops pulled her artists from the event, and vendors started panicking about when and how the deposit money they put down would be returned.

“At this point there is no location, she hasn’t told anyone, ‘Yes, keep the faith,’” said Trops, who added she’s been told each vendor put an average of $1,000 down.

“She got mad when I told my artists, ‘sorry there’s no venue.’ She doesn’t want the public to know, because they’ll always think the worst.”

Trops has been dishing out updates through her blog okanaganeroticartshow.com all week and a police file has been opened in Vernon to deal with those vendors who are concerned the money they put down to have a booth disappeared.

They have also been very forthright in their comments, talking about their frustrations with being duped.

For Trops, concerns about those who may have been burned are strongest, but the idea her credibility in the community was leveraged for someone else’s ill-gotten gain, stings most.

“(The organizer) and I had a fairly good relationship—she and I had been in contact often from the beginning of the year… and she seemed legitimate and sincere.”

While she’s examining her own actions, Trops is getting a lot of positive reinforcement from the 20 artists she had gathered.

“They have been amazing and patient, 90 per cent of them are from the area and they were excited because this was the first time there would be an adult-oriented event in the community,” she said.

“It’s a fabulous opportunity, in an event that is relevant. I know a lot of artists compiled work with the idea that this was going to be seen in an erotic venue, so they pushed themselves.”

Trops hasn’t lost all hope. She’s taking a week’s vacation from the hullaballoo and has every intention of putting together a show sometime in the future, should a venue present itself.

“It would be a great show, if I could show it,” she said.

While she was missing in action for a couple of weeks, the event organizer recently started making calls to vendors who were anxiously awaiting any new information she could offer.

There have been no definitive answers on what will come of her portion of the event.

http://www.castanet.net/edition/news-story-54209-1-.htm#54209

Xtream Fantasy Sex Show update
by Rachael Kimola – Story: 54209
Apr 28, 2010 / 2:00 pm

All may not be lost for people hoping to attend an adult trade fair in Kelowna.

The Xtream Fantasy Sex Show may be taking place after all, but no date or venue have been announced.

The XFSS was originally scheduled to take place from April 30 to May 3 in Kelowna.

However, problems securing a location and lack of communication from the show’s organizer, Natasha Lacourses, caused several vendors to pull out of the show and ask for their money back.

When the vendors were unable to reach Lacourses over a period of two to three weeks, some began to fear the worst.

After a story raising those concerns appeared on Castanet early Wednesday morning, Lacourses began returning calls and contacted the vendors and Castanet to explain the situation.

“What I can tell you is it was never my intention to “screw” people over. The show is being postponed, not cancelled and I am not in breach of contract with any part of my contract that had been signed by those individuals. I called my vendors last Tuesday and spoke with the majority of them again this morning. I left messages for those I couldn’t reach,” says Lacourses.

She says she has been doing everything she can to find a new venue and calm the minds of people involved.

“That’s why I hadn’t gotten your messages, because I wasn’t in the office. I’m trying to stay positive about it, the show will go on. I’m hoping it’s going to be a positive thing instead of a negative thing. I definitely don’t want anyone to think I was out to get their money.”

Vernon-based tattoo artist Rob Forest was planning to be a vendor at the XFSS. He says he heard from Natasha on Wednesday morning and is satisfied that she has contacted him.

“She basically said she wasn’t trying to rip anyone off and her major fault was that she didn’t contact anyone when this was going down. Like I said in the article, I never thought it was anything malicious and hopefully everything works out for the best,” says Forest.

He says he is still hoping to get his money back and is pursuing the matter with Lacourses.

http://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/54164/Vendors-screwed-by-sex-show-host
Vendors ‘screwed’ by sex show host
by Rachael Kimola – Story: 54164
Apr 28, 2009 / 10:00 am

It was billed as a trade fair with an adult style.

Now it appears that the erotic adult orientated event won’t be taking place at all and vendors who signed up for the event feel they have been taken advantage of.

The Xtream Fantasy Sex Show was set to take place in Kelowna from April 30 to May 2.

Several months ago the event’s organizer, Natasha Lacourses with Calgary based Xtream Events, had booked ad space with local media and was in talks with a local event venue.

However, the talks with the venue never got past the discussion phase and a new venue was not booked. Now vendors, both local and from out of province, want their money back.

Vendors say no one has been able to reach Lacourses for the last couple of weeks.

Vernon-based tattoo artist Rob Forest was planning to have a booth at the show. He’s out $1,000.

“I don’t think that Natasha is doing this maliciously, but maybe she just got in over her head and is now hiding from people. But I want my money back. I put in a lot time and effort to make sure I could be set up to do tattoos at this show, to make sure the booth was exactly right,” says Forest.

He says he knew he had to withdraw from the show after hearing that the Okanagan Erotic Art Show was parting ways from the XFSS.

“That was the main reason I was going to be in the XFSS, was because I have pieces submitted to the Erotic Art Show and I am trying to get more into the art aspect of tattooing. I’m going to do everything I can to get in touch with her (Lacourses). I haven’t heard from her for more than two weeks. $1,000 is a lot of money for a small business.”

“I’ve never been ripped off before and I don’t like it.”

Julia Trops is the organizer of the Okanagan Erotic Art Show, which has run independently for the last few years.

“The Erotic Art show was a separate event to begin with, I was contacted by Natasha out of the blue via Facebook in January, she said she was organizing this event and would like to have some art involved. I thought it was a good fit for our show, so I said OK,” says Trops.

She says she heard from Lacourses in early April saying she had lost the contract to hold the event at the Kelowna Curling Club.

“I contacted some people at some other venues and gave the info to Natasha to help her find a new venue. She followed up, made some calls, but told me that none of them worked out for various reasons. At this point, I sent out a note to the artists letting them know what was happening with the venue because I figured they had a right to know. Natasha got angry that I had told people, she said she wanted to keep it quiet until a new venue was confirmed.”

Trops says she decided to part ways with the XFSS after she found out from the Kelowna Curling Club that there had never been a contract to host the show.

Jock Tyre, manager of the KCC, says the plan to host the XFSS at the KCC never progressed beyond the discussion stage.

“There was never a contact, nothing was ever signed. We were in negotiations after the organizer expressed an interest in booking the venue, but nothing came of it,” says Tyre.

Trops says that was the last straw for her and she is now searching for a new venue to hold the Erotic Art Show later this summer.

“I have given my artists the choice to remain in the show or pull out and get their money back. I haven’t cashed any of their cheques yet and I won’t until the show is actually hung. I think Natasha was very sincere about wanting to put on this show, I just don’t understand what went wrong.”

She says the Facebook page created for the XFSS has been taken down.

“It is really too bad, it sounded like it would have been a good event. This experience hasn’t soured me on doing a collaborative event in the future if something like this comes along again. I still think it would be a good fit, but next time I will insist on seeing the venue contract.”

Other local vendors trying to get there money back include Barabra Harvey, owner of Vernon’s Libra Video and Love Boutique who is out $975.

Local vendors and groups aren’t the only ones impacted by this incident.

Beth Weisman-Lovatt is the president of B.A.R.E Restaurants Corp., an Toronto-based business which manufactures fetish wear.

She was planning to set up a booth at the XFSS and had paid Lacourses a $1,300 booth fee last month.

“We heard the venue it was going to be held in fell through and that she was looking for another one. I was expecting an announcement of a new venue a couple of weeks ago and haven’t heard anything from her,” says Weisman-Lovatt.

She says she started to worry that no new venue had been announced, but was still willing to take part in the show.

“I had a logistical question about the show about a week later. I couldn’t get in touch with her. At that point I wanted my money back. Now none of my calls are being returned and her Blackberry is full, it won’t take any new messages.”

“Maybe she has all the intention of still putting the show together, but her silence is damning. If she was having problems getting a venue, she should have just held her head up high and admitted that. We could have worked something out. Now I am considering getting a lawyer.”

During an interview with Castanet earlier this year, Lacourses said the XFSS would feature live entertainment on a main stage, vendors, and educational workshops.

She said she was expecting there to be about 130 vendors such as health practitioners, yoga instructors, lingerie, alternative life styles, tattoo and body piercing, photography and adult novelty retailers.

“It’s a very positive show, it’s about opening people’s minds to this aspect of life. It’s not pornography, it’s an adult trade fair,” said Lacourses at the time.

Several calls and emails from Castanet to Lacourses and to Xtreme Events were not returned.