DES MOINES — Meet your 2016 Iowa Leather titleholders: Ms. Iowa Leather Tink Harvey of Des Moines, IA; and Rob Anderson of The Quad Cities.
Held October 9-12, this year’s Iowa Leather Weekend saw record attendance. With over 600 people in attendance at the contest and 1700 attendees for the weekend, it was Iowa Leather Weekend’s biggest year yet. Long time attendee M. Sousa said “I’ve been coming to Iowa Leather Weekend for years. From the first time I attended, I felt comfortable. It felt like I was “home” because the Des Moines community and other attendees were so welcoming. I am so happy to see the event continue to grow and appreciate the diversity of the events, the workshops, and great entertainment that is available at an affordable price!”
Sousa is right! The events and attractions featured during Iowa Leather Weekend represented an inclusive community spectrum: Superhero Gear Night, a Smoke-Out/Grill-Out, Rubbermen Invasion, Power of the Pussy Party, Bear’tails and the Thrive Jockstrap Party were some of the opportunities available to participants over the weekend. First time attendee M. Maxwell commented, “Iowa Leather Weekend was my first time being surrounded by such a large group of kinksters. I felt extremely welcomed and as a rubber guy, I really enjoyed the rubber party on Saturday before the big contest.”
In addition to the socials and cocktail events previously mentioned, Iowa Leather Weekend featured a series of KINK U workshops and demonstrations, sponsored by Titans of the Midwest, a Littles Party, a Bootblack Lounge, and a Pup Mosh sponsored by the North Star Kennel Club.
A total of 8 contestants competed for the Iowa Leather titles this year: For the Mr. Iowa Leather competition, DSM Sarge of Des Moines was 1st runner-up and Anthony Sivanthaphanith of Iowa City was 2nd runner-up. For Ms. Iowa Leather, Murph McDaniel Sousa of Omaha was 1st runner-up.
This year’s contest judges included IML 1994 Jeff Tucker, founder/owner of Le Chateau Exotique Joyce Rubin Berger, Mr. Leatherman Toronto 2013 Sir Robert Miller, IML 2012 Woody Woodruff, Mid-Atlantic Leatherwoman 2009 Cowboi Jen, Mr. Iowa Leather 2015 Rob Kreisinger-Denk and Ms. Iowa Leather 2015 Lucket Kiche.
Den Daddy was Jon Jack Trujillo, Den Mother was IMsL 2013 Sarha Shaubach, Tally Masters were Randolph KMA and American Leatherboy 2013 Tank Teachworth, and Contest Bootblack was International Mr. Bootblack 1st runner-up Zach Bellman.
Iowa Leather Weekend would like to thank our sponsors for making this amazing weekend possible: The Blazing Saddle, The Garden Nightclub, Buddy’s Corral, Oxballs U.S.A., Corn Haulers Levi & Leather Club, Le Chateau Exotique, NYC Leather Man, Fort Troff, Twin Cities Leather and Latte, Studio 13, Titans of the Midwest, Atons of Minneapolis, North Star Kennel Club, Minnesota Leather Pride, Leatherati, The Imperial Court of Iowa, CIPEX Mischief in May, Doll Distributing, Everett Allen Photography,Pjur Lubricants, Leatherati, Pride Sports League, The Dunes Resort, CLAW, Capital City Pride, and Great Lakes Den.
Host hotel reservations and weekend packages for Iowa Leather Weekend 2016 are on sale now at www.iowaleatherweekend.com. Thanks to all who attended and see you next October 14th-16th for Iowa Leather Weekend 2016!
Contributors to this article include Mark Turnage, Jeremy Morris, and Rob Anderson.
