IOWA CITY – Sash Bash, Eastern Iowa’s annual celebration of fetish and kink culture, takes place for its last year this weekend, with its greatest attendance ever and a greater variety of learning workshops.
“We’ve got programming related to gender identity, women’s issues …. And we have a diverse faculty of presenters for the workshops,” says founder Rob Anderson, who was named Mr. Iowa Leather in 2016 and has remained active in the national leather and kink community ever since.
“We have one (workshop) that is specifically geared toward people of color and the issues they face within the kink community. We have things that focus on more than just your traditional white, kinky folks’ classes.”
The event starts tonight and continues through Sunday, with all events centered around the two-bar building of Studio Thirteen and The Alley Cat in downtown Iowa City
Attendees can sign up for the whole weekend, or for individual workshops. Numerous social events tonight, Saturday and Sunday are also open to attendance, even if you’re not part of the event.
Proceeds benefit the Leather Archives & Museum in Chicago, and Iowa Safe Schools. Overall, Sash Bash has raised more than $45,000 for the two organizations in its 10-year history, Anderson says.
Anderson’s goal has always been to help broaden the identities typically included in fetish and kink events. Anderson himself represents what even he calls an “old-school” archetype: the traditional Papa Bear, who is fuzzy all over and welcomes being considered a bit hefty, representing physical characteristics of a bear.
But the bear culture has been working for years to broaden its inclusion, with memes, titles and groups that cater to “mama bears” (females), thin men, and other greater varieties of people and styles.
This year’s presenters feature several nonbinary people. In addition, this year’s events feature a healthy dose of human pet play. That’s a fetish where a handler and their human “pet” role-play as animal and animal trainer.
In addition, Sash Bash features a strong emphasis on bootblacks, which are those members of the leather community who care for others’ boots, leather and accessories. It’s rooted in a service that dates back to 19th-century France.
Tonight features a pool party, cigar social, meet & Greet, bootblack services, and a “Trantasy” Drag Show featuring transgender performers.
Saturday, workshops and chats are happening from 9:30 a.m. to about 3:40 p.m., covering “Femmes, Thems, & Allies,” being inclusive to trangender and nonbinary people, safe masochism, sensory play, “kink equity,” and shea butter body worship.
Saturday also features a midday “pet mosh,” an evening “family dinner,” and a second evening of bootblack services, the vendor mart, and another drag show.
The weekend wraps up Sunday with a midday Drag Brunch.
Leather and kink educators and title-holders who will present this weekend include:
Bea Uty, Missouri Ms. Leather for 2023 and 2024
Celina Rose, Show Me Leather Little for 2024
Daddy Nick, Midwest Handler from 2019 to 2023
Jett Forte, Missouri Person of Leather 2024
katblk, Mx. Wisconsin Leather Pride
Lucian Raven, bootblack from western Iowa
Pup Spark, Midwest Person of Leather 2023
Skye Ridge, Iowa Pet 2025
TheCub Scout, who is the 2024 “Show Me Leather Pet”
Cover photo shows (clockwise from l to r) kat blk, 2016 Mr. Iowa Bear and Sash Bash founder Rob Anderson, Bea Uty, Daddy Nick, Celina Rose, Pup Spark, TheCub Scout, Lucian Raven, and Jett Forte.
