I spoke to Craig Valentine Saturday morning who gave me some extra stuff besides what you read in this article. I will have Valentine’s comments posted later on.

Detroit- Beyond the skimpy outfits, erotic toys, massage oils and nearly naked women lies a message at the Sex and So Much More Show that began Friday afternoon at Cobo Center: Cast your inhibitions aside.

Even you longtime married folk.

So says Mary Taylor, a former stripper, who authored the book “Bedroom Games” (Random House, $12) and will host workshops showing how to striptease at home.

“I think it’s very important that couples do fun things together,” Taylor said Friday as the doors opened to the three-day event. “A lot of people complain that their relationship is boring. Got to keep that fire burning.”

Not that Jim Moore, 37, and his wife, Shelley, were complaining as doors opened to the event at 3 p.m. The couple, married for 15 years, drove about 260 miles from East Jordan, near Charlevoix, to attend the convention.

“It’s excellent for a marriage,” Jim Moore said. “We’re intrigued.”

Shelley Moore, 43, agreed.

“You don’t want your marriage to go stagnant,” she said. “You want to try new things. We’re here for the seminars.”

The touring show – which has been advertised locally, including in the Free Press – drew more than 15,000 visitors in Minneapolis and more than 18,000 in Denver.

In Colorado, some state lawmakers objected. In Tampa, officials barred it, saying it violated a ban on adult entertainment.

As of Friday afternoon, there were no protests outside Cobo.

Porn star Summer Haze, [pictured] who has a booth with more than a dozen of her DVDs at the event, said she doesn’t know why some people get so uptight about sex.

“We cater more to couples than we do individual people,” she said. “Come on down and bring your man or your lady and have a great time. We have something for everybody.”

Haze, 42, who lives in Florida, said she has been in the porn industry for more than 20 years.

“I had a lot of plastic surgery done to look like this,” said the blonde, who’s starred in such films as “Behind Closed Doors” and “Hi-Way Hotties.” She said her face has been reconstructed and she’s had fat removed from her rear.

She said she is using proceeds from her DVDs to stop the euthanization of older cats.

“I’d like the cats to have a big pasture built for them, so they can all hang out,” she said. “Otherwise they put them to sleep and that bothers me.”

Ken Kelsaw, a Detroiter known as Liquid Man, was busy body-painting – spraying colorful designs and advertisements on women’s bare backs.

“This is art,” he said.

story in progress