CLEARWATER, Fla.—The past year has seen a lot of changes in the U.S., and one of the upcoming changes is that the 2021 Gentlemen’s Club EXPO and the Annual ED Awards Show are being entirely reworked. Specifically, ED Publications has announced that it will be taking an entirely different approach to the ED Awards Show, which will be held on-site in the Grand Ballroom at the InterContinental Hotel Miami, the host hotel for the 2021 EXPO, this coming May 23-26.
“There’s just no way we could award the Club of the Year in regions of the country where most of the clubs have been closed since March 2020,” noted ED Publications’ Associate Publisher Dave Manack. “And even in the other regions where clubs have been open, they’re only at maybe 50 percent capacity. That’s why we want to turn our attention to some of the key individuals who have done something remarkable, or made a substantial impact in some way over the past year.”
Eschewing such categories as “Club of the Year West Region” or “International Club of the Year,” ED Publications has created eight new award categories, all of which will be presented during the 23rd Annual Adult Nightclub & Exotic Dancer Awards Show. The ED Awards Show, still the only national awards show for the multi-billion-dollar adult nightclub industry, will be held on Tuesday, May 25, inside the Grand Ballroom at the InterContinental Hotel. The ED Awards Show is presented in Brand Partnership with Patron Tequila, and the Awards Show staging is being produced by Luna Reps & ALVInnovations, two leading sound and lighting production companies.
The revamped 2021 ED Awards will include:
• Creative Executive of the Year: The club executive who found new ways to approach and enhance their business despite the shutdown.
• Team Players of the Year: The club executives who, at their own expense, helped their staff and entertainers through the shutdown.
• Goodwill Ambassador of the Year: The club executive who consistently stays positive and is actively involved in making improvements in the industry.
• EXPO Ally of the Year: The industry professional who continually supports the EXPO and gentlemen’s clubs at large, a true champion of the industry.
• Road Warrior of the Year: The club executive who selflessly travels mile after mile, year after year, ensuring that their clubs have everything they need to be successful.
• Project Director of the Year: Acknowledges perseverance in accomplishing a difficult or daunting project from start to finish, and reaping the rewards of that effort.
The ED Hall of Fame Awards will remain a part of this year’s show, and there will also be two awards presented to feature entertainers. One is Social Media Superstar of the Year, which will go to the feature entertainer who has done the best job of keeping fans engaged all year through their social media profiles. The second, ED’s Overall Feature Entertainer of the Year, will also have an entirely different approach. Because COVID all but eliminated feature bookings over the past year, ED Publications will instead honor competitors from the most recent EDI East & West contests by inviting the four top 2019 finishers to compete for EDI Entertainer of the Year. Four features—Natasha Nova, Justice, Shar Zayn and Janine Jericho—will compete on Sunday, May 23, at Tootsie’s Cabaret in Miami for a one-night-only, winner-take-all final. These performances will be full, competition-level shows, and industry heavyweights will serve as judges. The top two scorers will be invited to perform during the ED Awards Show on May 25, and the presentation of EDI Entertainer of the Year Award will conclude the Awards Show.
“Finally, all EXPO attendees will be able to see what a true competition-level feature show is all about,” noted Manack, founder and co-producer of the Annual EDI East & West Contests. The most recent EDIs were sponsored and hosted by Bucks Cabaret (West) and Jerry Westlund’s Pony Clubs (East). “And to have this amazing one-night-only competition happening at the largest club in the U.S.—Tootsie’s Cabaret—will be a treat for everyone involved.”
The ED Awards Show is free this year to EXPO attendees, and seating for the show will include general-admission roundtables (reserved seating available for Event Sponsors). To register for EXPO 2021 in Miami and take advantage of the buy-one-get-one-half-price special, call (727) 726-3592 or visit theEDexpo.com. To book a hotel room for just $169 per night (Sunday through Wednesday), call (800) 327-3005 and request the Gentlemen’s Club EXPO rate.
