Photo of grapefruit by Kat Valdez. Become More Intimate sticker designed by Dr. Cori Wong. Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.

By Kat Valdez (she/her)

The May 9 show “For The Love of Strangers,” emceed by Dr. Cori Wong, focused on sensuous experiences with friends.

No, not that. Whatever you’re thinking, you’re wrong.

Although a brief description of Orgyrobot came up (find this group on Instagram) that wasn’t the focus.

The focus was on experiences that help us get to know ourselves and our friends better. And to feel joy at the small pleasures in life.

Small group conversations followed each of Cori’s humorous anecdotes.

Some of the discussion questions focused on favorite and not-favorite sense experiences, such as the smell of sun-warmed pine needles, chocolate, and books.

Not-so-favorite experiences: loud, noisy environments.

One anecdote focused on grapefruit and how we eat them.

Some people cut them in half, sprinkle sugar on top, and eat each little wedge with a serrated spoon (“if you’re fancy”).

How clinical. How…repressed. Where’s the joy and pleasure in that?

(Disclosure: I was raised Catholic and this is how we ate grapefruit.)

Instead Cori strongly recommends and encourages everyone to use the following method as a sensual practice for tapping into feeling pleasure with all five senses:

Use your bare hands to tear into the grapefruit, rip it apart, and maybe even peel the thick membrane off the sections before popping the juicy tidbits of pink flesh into your mouth.

Optional: laying down newspaper on a table before enjoying such a feast with friends at your birthday party, which is what Cori did a few years ago.

Cori presented a few giveaways from Mystique Lingerie. She also gave away two grapefruits.

One to an attendee who had shared their story.

The second one to someone who grinned and eagerly raised their hand: me.

The next day, I tore into that grapefruit, inhaled its sweet aroma, and devoured it in one sitting. Delicious.

And then I remembered something.

Something I hadn’t thought of in a long time:

I love grapefruit.

Kat Valdez doesn’t usually think of fruit as sensuous but this experience taught her to look at things—and the world—in new ways. And to find friends who want to do the same.

Check out the next “For The Love of Strangers” experiential variety show on Friday, June 13 and every second Friday this year at Visit Fort Collins. Suggested donation: $10 at BuyMeACoffee.com/coriwong

Read about the Feb. 14 debut of “For The Love of Strangers” at DiverseFortCollins.com

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