Minneapolis, MN, October 29, 2024 –(CarryOnHarry.com)– Intimacy Directors and Coordinators (IDC) is thrilled to announce the Inaugural Intimacy Professional Summit, scheduled for April 11-13, 2025.
This premier event will gather Intimacy Professionals, Directors, Producers, and other Entertainment Professionals from around the globe to advance the way the TV/film and live performance industries handle intimate stories.
Who/What: Intimacy Directors and Coordinators (IDC) is hosting its inaugural Intimacy Professional Summit, gathering experts and leaders from the TV, film, and theatre industries. Supported by Hennepin Theatre Arts, this will be the largest U.S. event focused on advancing how the entertainment industry handles intimate stories.
Since Tarana Burke’s #MeToo movement sparked global change, the entertainment industry has rapidly embraced the role of Intimacy Professionals — now one of the fastest-growing roles. Despite its recent emergence, this role is now considered an industry standard, ensuring that intimate scenes are handled safely and respectfully. On the heels of Intimacy Coordinators working to unionize with SAG-AFTRA, the Intimacy Professional Summit is a pivotal moment for the industry to deeply engage with this critical shift, offering the much-needed space to advance the production of intimate scenes.
The Summit features interactive workshops, expert panels, product demos, and networking opportunities to foster a community of changemakers. Speakers include Alicia Rodis, Head of Intimacy Coordination at HBO; Claire Warden, Broadway’s First Intimacy Director; and Dr. Jessica Steinrock, Intimacy Coordination Influencer with over 1.3M followers.
Prior to the Summit, IDC will be hosting a Certification Intensive, where the next generation of industry leaders will become certified as Intimacy Professionals.
Intimacy Directors and Coordinators (IDC) is the leading and largest organization training and certifying intimacy professionals worldwide. Our community members have impacted every level of the industry, including HBO, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Broadway.
Intimacy Professionals are choreographers, actor advocates, and liaisons between actors and production for scenes that involve nudity/hyper-exposed work, simulated sex acts, and intimate/sexualized physical contact in TV, film, and live performance.
Why: The entertainment industry has long grappled with issues of sexual harassment, which were thrust into the spotlight during the Harvey Weinstein trials. As Tarana Burke’s #MeToo movement went viral, Hollywood responded with its own #TimesUp movement, focusing on the industry-specific challenges of sexual misconduct. The industry’s response drove a necessary reckoning regarding intimate scenes, creating the demand for Intimacy Coordinators, a role dedicated to safeguarding and supporting actors during these vulnerable moments.
The role of the Intimacy Coordinator has rapidly become one of the fastest-growing professions in the entertainment industry. Hit shows like Bridgerton have demonstrated the value of this role in creating groundbreaking storytelling that captivates audiences. Actors and Actresses like Nicola Coughlan, Ewan McGregor, and Kate Winslet, among others, have praised the role as essential. As giants in the industry, major networks such as HBO continue to lead by mandating the presence of intimacy coordinators on any set involving intimate scenes, and Intimacy professionals are now utilized in live performances from Broadaway to the West End.
Intimacy Professionals represent a significant leap forward in addressing one of the entertainment industry’s biggest challenges: preventing sexual misconduct while giving actors autonomy during high-risk, intimate scenes.
The Intimacy Professional Summit provides an unprecedented opportunity for intimacy professionals and entertainment professionals from around the world and across all levels of the industry to connect, inspire, and learn from one another. This event aims to cultivate an unstoppable force for positive change within the entertainment industry, ensuring safe, consensual, and dynamic intimacy choreography in live performance, film, and television.
Media Coverage: We invite members of the media to cover this impactful event. Our team will be available for interviews and to provide further insights into the global significance of this event in advancing the entertainment industry. Press passes will be available at a later date.
Portland, OR, November 27, 2025 –(CarryOnHarry.com)– The FAN EXPO Portland celebrity guest list has always featured great variety, and five new additions to the 2026 lineup for the pop culture extravaganza are further proof of that. Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride, Saw), Gates McFadden (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Picard), Walter Koenig (Star Trek, Babylon 5), Manny Jacinto (The Good Place, Star Wars: The Acolyte) and “Peggy the Dog” (Deadpool & Wolverine) will now attend the event set for January 16-18 at the Oregon Convention Center.
Elwes gained wide acclaim for his portrayal of “Wesley” in the 1987 classic The Princess Bride and reached new audiences by headlining the Mel Brooks spoof Robin Hood: Men in Tights and later Saw. He also recently appeared in the Tom Cruise features Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One and Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning and portrays “Mayor Larry Kline” in Stranger Things 3.
McFadden had the key role of “Beverly Crusher” in TNG, reprising the role in Picard, Prodigy and other iterations of the franchise. She is also a stage actress, choreographer, director, teacher, and was the host of more than 300 episodes of the podcast “Gates McFadden InvestiGates: Who Do You Think You Are?”
Koenig is best known for his recurring television portrayals both of the hated, intensely driven “Alfred Bester” (Babylon 5) and the likable, perpetually cheerful “Pavel Chekov” (Star Trek). Koenig’s film work includes the first seven Star Trek feature films, for which he earned two Saturn Award Best Supporting Actor nominations. His many other films have been independent projects with challenging roles.
Jacinto played “Jason Mendoza” on the full four-season run of The Good Place (2016-20) and later appeared as “Lt. Fritz Avalone” in the blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick. Also among his more than 50 TV and film credits are runs on the Hulu series Nine Perfect Strangers and the animated series Hailey’s on It!
Peggy, earning the title of “Britain’s Ugliest Dog” in a national competition there, has gone on to stardom as “Dogpool” in the Marvel Universe in Deadpool & Wolverine. A portion of proceeds from her appearance at FAN EXPO Portland will support a local charity in the Pacific Northwest.
The five bolster an already impressive FAN EXPO Portland celebrity roster that includes: • The Lord of the Rings headliners Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan • Mike Colter (Luke Cage, Men in Black³) • Josh Holloway (Lost, Yellowstone) • Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek: The Next Generation) • Harry Potter duo of Matthew Lewis and Bonnie Wright • Judith Hoag (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Armageddon) • Robbie Rist (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Brady Bunch) • Ernie Reyes Jr. (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) • Brian Tochi (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Revenge of the Nerds) • Kenn Scott (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, director/Adventures of Johnny Tao) • François Chau (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Lost) • Thomas Lennon (Reno 911!, American Dad) • Cedric Yarbrough (Reno 911!, The Goldbergs) • My Hero Academia standouts Eric Vale, David Matranga, J. Michael Tatum, Brandon McInnis and Clifford Chapin • Hazbin Hotel regulars Christian Borle, Joel Perez and Krystina Alabado
More FAN EXPO Portland guest announcements will follow from the worlds of film, television, streaming, art, literature, gaming, cosplay, anime, animation and more in the coming weeks.
Adult, Youth and Child Single-Day Tickets, Three-Day Passes, Family passes, and Ultimate and VIP Packages for FAN EXPO Portland are available now at www.fanexpoportland.com. Advance pricing is available until January 1.
Portland is the second event on the 2026 FAN EXPO HQ calendar; the full schedule is available at fanexpohq.com/home/events.
About FAN EXPO HQ FAN EXPO HQ is the largest comic con producer in the world. Collectively it hosts over one million fans annually at FAN EXPO New Orleans, FAN EXPO Portland, FAN EXPO Vancouver, FAN EXPO Cleveland, MEGACON Orlando, Toronto Comicon, CALGARY EXPO, FAN EXPO Denver, FAN EXPO Philadelphia, FAN EXPO Boston, FAN EXPO Chicago, FAN EXPO Canada, FAN EXPO Dallas, VIDCON Anaheim, EDMONTON EXPO, Dallas FAN FESTIVAL and FAN EXPO San Francisco. The latest schedule of events is available on the website, along with up-to-date ticket information. Discover. Celebrate. Belong.
Nashville, TN, November 20, 2025 –(CarryOnHarry.com)– A fourth-generation U.S. Virgin Islander who has called Nashville home since 1993, de Lugo transitioned from an award-winning career in music publishing and feature film producing, with Platinum and Gold Albums, Arista Records A-Team Award, BMI #1 and more, to lavender farming in 2018. Focusing exclusively on Peace Tree Farm’s trademarked, heat- and humidity-tolerant hybrids—Lavender Phenomenal®, Sensational!®, and Exceptional!®—she has proven these cultivars are the definitive choice for Southern growers.
Lloyd Traven, President of Peace Tree Farm, the original breeder of these global-standard varieties, praises de Lugo’s early foresight and influence:
“Over a period of the last decade, Gigi has been highlighting our introductions that have become the Gold Standard for lavender worldwide, and she was an early proponent because she saw the extra value of these introductions… Once she knew the plants were different and far superior, she committed to making the right choice for her customers. She can now proudly say that she has started over 30 new farms on their journey across an area ranging from Virginia through to Iowa!”
From its original rented fields in Whites Creek—Gigi’s Lavender, was celebrated by “Garden & Gun” magazine as one of the South’s top lavender destinations—the licensed nursery has supplied thousands of Peace Tree-bred plants throughout Tennessee and beyond. In 2019, de Lugo founded “The Lavender Exchange (TLx),” an exclusive membership alliance offering ongoing technical support, resource sharing, cooperative marketing, and agritourism promotion to farms that source their plants exclusively from Gigi’s Nursery.
Traven also highlights the impact of this network: “Gigi also knows the great importance and value of marketing with expression of clear benefits and a clear message. She created the Lavender Exchange with this in mind—to provide an outlet for cooperative marketing and sharing of equipment and machinery and product ideas.”
This strengthened ownership ensures continuity for de Lugo’s research, educational outreach, and product innovation at the Joelton location, including her newest Patent Pending offering, “ZWave Mg”—a topical magnesium spray infused with pure Phenomenal lavender hydrosol steam-distilled exclusively from flowers grown by TLx member farms. Designed for relaxation, muscle relief, and better sleep, ZWave Mg showcases the wellness potential of Southern-grown lavender.
“This milestone gives us the stability and security to continue investing in our Southern lavender research, development, product distribution, and growing community of the farms we support through The Lavender Exchange (TLx),” said Gigi de Lugo. “From the beginning I set out to prove lavender could become a viable cash crop for Tennessee and Southern farms—not only a pretty agritourism field, but a real harvestable commodity built on Phenomenal®. It took courageous pioneers willing to bet on the unproven and stay the course with me. These years, alongside the extraordinary farmers of our TLx family, have been one of the greatest adventures of my life.”
Experience the pure essence of Southern lavender: Gigi’s premium products, including the breakthrough ZWave Mg, are available exclusively through her website, and retail partners across Tennessee. Gigi is in discussion with a Nashville based manufacturer to expand her ZWave Mg production capacity for 2026.
About Gigi’s Lavender Nursery & Farm Gigi’s Lavender Nursery & Farm is a Tennessee-licensed grower and an exclusive Southeast source for Peace Tree Farm’s Phenomenal®, Sensational!®, Exceptional!®, Inspirational!® lavender cultivars. It serves as headquarters for The Lavender Exchange (TLx), a premier network advancing lavender agriculture and agritourism across the South and Midwest.
