The Coastal Theater in the Lib Jackson Student Union at Coastal Carolina University (CCU) was buzzing with excitement on Oct. 10 as bingo players aimed for the ultimate prize: not just bragging rights, but a bounty of sex toys.
When someone yelled “bingo,” the room erupted in cheers—proving that in this room, pleasure was the name of the game. This event is run by Students Advocating for Gender Equality (SAGE) to promote safe sex practices and raise money for other events they host.
SAGE President and senior history major Iszabella Hrivnak explained where the revenue goes and why they do these events.
“The money is going towards one of our other big events, our second chance prom, which is for queer and straight students who missed their prom,” Hrivnak said.
Participants competed for six prize baskets through five rounds of bingo and a Kahoot game focused on sex education and safe practices. Each basket held a variety of toys, with the prizes increasing in size and luxury as the rounds progressed. Thomas Allgood, SAGE’s social media chair and sophomore graphic design major, discussed themes and contents of the baskets.
“The baskets have a general Halloween theme, and each has one big toy and a few smaller items around it,” Allgood said, “contents include vibrators, rose toys and some phallic-shaped straws and candy.”
The event was partially sponsored by Bad Kitty, an adult store located in Myrtle Beach, which donated two of the prize baskets. Two additional sponsors were initially lined up but backed out due to scheduling conflicts.
“We were originally gonna have Adam and Eve do it as they were a partner last year, but they backed out, we mostly got our stuff instead from Spencer’s,” Allgood said.
For its third appearance, the event was a big hit, nearly selling out and drawing a lively crowd. Six winners left with their prize baskets and plenty of smiles. Many attendees gained newfound knowledge about sex toys and necessary sanitary upkeep, promoting safe practices for enjoyable experiences.
Winner Akazia Kaplan, a senior biology major, shared her takeaways from the event.
“I think it’s actually really cool that I came and won, I actually like that they put cleaning wipes and spread that awareness,” Kaplan said.
This event continues to be a success and is a fun and engaging way to raise awareness for the LGBTQ+ community. Combining entertainment with education, sex toy bingo guarantees participants a fun night out with valuable insights into safe sex practices.
