Columbus Alive! 10/25/07

Columbus Alive – October 25, 2007

Alive Unedited – Body Art Benefit: The Organizers Of TRAUMA 2007

Fetishes, freaks and two holidays will collide next week at Trauma, the annual extreme Halloween party that attracts partygoers from across the country.

The event will bring together costumed revelry in the spirit of Halloween and turkey dinners in the spirit of Thanksgiving when, for the first time since it began in 2002, tattoo and piercing studio Evolved’s annual bash will benefit charity.

Co-organizers Nick Wolak, Evolved’s owner, and Jacob Wooten, a staffer there, are expecting 500 to 1,000 costumed partiers and performers will fill Sugar Bar next Wednesday.

The co-organizers sat down to tell Alive about plans for the event and the Thanksgiving meals that will follow.

Alive : How much has Trauma changed since the first event in 2002?

Nick: The first year, it was Shawn Lower from Only Flesh and me from Evolved.

We made it a combination of Halloween, fetish balls and freak shows. And we knew a lot of different people who had been exposed to a lot of different events, parties, cultures, subcultures, so it was our idea every year to bring something a little different that would really treat people to a good surprise.This year, Jacob has brought a lot of new ideas, and we’re going to have things that we’ve never had before.

We have a hypnosis show. There will be three shows: one will be PG-13, one will be rated R and one will be unrated. That’s something that should be a lot of fun. And I don’t know that that happens in Columbus or Ohio every day. It’s more of something you would expect to see in Las Vegas.

Alive: What else do we have, Jacob?

Jacob: We have scavenger hunts, sort of like an explore-and-play concept. Snacks—we’re going to hit everybody’s sweet tooth with a cotton candy machine. We have some fun plans for that. Twister—there’s a few ways we’re going to tweak that up a little bit.

Nick: We have a lot of other things, but I don’t know that they should go public right now.

Alive: Who usually comes?

Nick: A lot of customers, a lot of local musicians, artists. We have people fly in and drive in from all over the country, too—from as far away as L.A. and Argentina.

Alive: How did the charity idea develop this year?

Nick: Initially, it was just something that never crossed our mind.

Jacob: I did something similar last year [before joining Evolved's staff] for Halloween. It was small, nothing like Trauma. But I figured with a bigger event, we might as well adopt more families.

What we’re doing with some of the profits from Trauma is adopting 10 underprivileged families in Central Ohio who can’t afford to have Thanksgiving dinner or much of anything. They’re going to get all-natural, free-range Thanksgiving meals, totally oven-ready and provided by Whole Foods.

On November 18, we’re going to invite all of the families to Hair Color Xperts in the Short North and give all the members a free haircut, followed by a family portrait by Devyne Productions.

Nick: [With] the charity events that we have done [before], what goes to the charity was determined by the success of the event. For Trauma this year, all of the charitable donations are guaranteed. So no matter what happens October 31, 10 Central Ohio families are going to have an amazing Thanksgiving meal.

Alive: Do you think the charity effort is boosting ticket sales?

Nick: I don’t more think people will go because of it. But I think that especially when you go out and have a crazy night out like Trauma, just knowing that it’s [for] a good cause or knowing that the organizers aren’t just crazy freaks throwing a crazy party, but they’re also community conscious and environmentally conscious and all that, it’s just nice.

Brittany Kress