The Mirage brings the IMU casino games with a twist — condoms as chips in honor of sexual health and diversity.
By Grace Pateras
A condom casino, drag kings and queen, belly dancers, free HIV testing, a 1970s-glam-theme costume contest, and much more will fill the IMU Second-Floor Ballroom on Saturday.
This will be the Mirage’s fourth-consecutive year offering students, faculty, staff, and community members a safe place to bring people together. “The Mirage is an event in which people can get information on safer sex practices, get free and confidential HIV testing, win some great prizes, see amazing performances, and go home with a bag of free condoms,” said UI student Quinn Montgomery, who is on the executive committee for planning the event.
World AIDS Day was Tuesday. Another coordinator on the event executive committee, Trisha Welter, said officials plan the Mirage around the date of World AIDS Day to help promote awareness.
All night long, the Johnson County Public Health Department will offer free HIV testing to all participants.
“The main focuses [of the event] are sexual-health related and also diversity; we really want to push those at our event,” she said.
The event will begin with casino games and information tables about sexual health and other related topics.
Welter said there will be 10 casino games in which participants can win tokens and exchange them for safe-sex supplies, including condoms, lube, and dental dams.
What stands out in this year’s event, Welter said, is the performers.
There will be amateur drag performers, mostly students who signed up and a costume contest for people dressed for the ’70s-glam theme.
In addition, there will be professional belly dancers and professional drag-king and -queen performers. A former Mr. Gay Iowa will also perform.
“The Mirage is a safe space in which people can be themselves, have fun, and learn at the same time,” Montgomery said.
In its first year, there were 350 attendees. Last year, there were 700, and sponsors of the event hope to see that number continue to rise.
“We love getting to put on this annual event to really spread awareness around World AIDS Day and have an event that is so focused on promoting diversity and inclusion across the university,” said Meagan Schorr, a member of the executive committee. “It brings together students, faculty, staff, and community members. It’s great to bring those folks together to celebrate such a fun event every year.”
THE MIRAGE
When: 9 p.m. Saturday – 1 a.m. Sunday
Where: IMU, Second Floor Ballroom
Admission: Free