CHATSWORTH, Calif.—More than 600 adult industry members and outsiders turned out for last year's 'Vice Is Nice' event, which is again being held at Rancho Providencia, 10945 Old Santa Susana Pass Road in Chatsworth, on Saturday, July 28—and hostess Kelly Holland hopes this year's assemblage will come close to doubling.
"Every year, the momentum on this event grows a little bit," Holland reflected. "People become more familiar with it. This year, so far, everyone I've had the time to contact has been right there. A few people have upped their donations or upped their sponsorships, which is great, and I'm actually casting a broader net. I'm going to contact the novelty companies, which I have not done in the past, so Doc Johnson and Cal Exotic and Greg at Evolved will be getting calls, and a few more of the internet companies, and I'm going to contact the Angels; I've never approached Jules [Jordan] or John [Stagliano] or Chris Mann at Evil, so I'm going to cast the net a bit broader for them. I keep trying to push the mark and get maybe a thousand people there."
Of course, one of the reasons that might happen is that the grand prize for this year's poker tournament is a 52-inch Panasonic 3D Home Theater, but for most, it'll just be a chance to get together with like-minded animal lovers (and porn stars) and party, party, PARTY!
The evening will have something for everyone. If you like to gamble but poker isn't your thing, there'll be a "Monte Carlo Night" featuring blackjack, roulette and craps, run by professional gamers specially shipped in for the occasion.
Gambling not floating your boat? How about dancing the night away—the party, which starts at 6:30 pm, will last until midnight—to hot sounds "spun" by a professional DJ? And this year, the catered food (all vegan tamales, fruits and pastries—delicious!) will be right nearby for those who need a quick pick-me-up.
Also on hand will be makeup artists to paint your face or even full body, and director Erica McLean, who couldn't make last year's event, will be on hand to read your future in her tarot cards.
And then, of course, there are the baskets.
"The first year, I put together some adult baskets that were Penthouse adult baskets; they had T-shirts and bags and DVDs and schwag, and I wasn't sure how they were going to go over," Holland said. "Actually, Dyanna Lauren worked with me on it, and said, 'I want to put together some adult baskets.' So they had some wine or some champagne, some chocolates, some candles, and toys and products. And since this is not just an adult industry event, we weren't sure how it would go over because there were people from the rescue community, people from the general community and we thought, 'Oh, gosh, are we going to shock someone?' But it went over great, and it was the civilians at the party who bid most heavily on these baskets.
"So we did it again last year," Holland continued, "and I did more baskets, and they went over again like crazy; they were some of the most bid-on raffle baskets. So this year, rather than just doing Penthouse baskets, I've asked all of the companies that are coming on board to support the event like Vivid and Wicked and Adam & Eve to put together their own branded baskets of their schwag, and we'll put a sign saying it's the Wicked basket or the Adam & Eve basket and we're going to have more of those baskets, and we'll have a lot of other raffle items as well; we've got a lot of really good stuff."
"The magicians are back, and so is the piano player in the 'chill out' room, and we're going to put a bar by him so that will be a more well-used space," she added. "And with the tarot reading, the face-painting and a few surprises, it'll be a kind of a carnival atmosphere, which is what I like to create. Every year, we learn a little bit more and we refine it a little bit more, so it'll be fun."
The main beneficiary will be a new rescue center, Petopia, started by the woman who founded Valley Cats, another compassionate rescue, and which will have a storefront in the Westfield Mall on Topanga Canyon Boulevard.
"Valley Cats had been at PetSmart in the Fallbrook Mall for 13 years," Holland explained, "and that store closed, and there was a real panic about where to go because their rescue is entrenched in all of the Petcos and PetSmarts within a 30-mile radius, and there was a discussion within the group about whether to just stop the rescue, which would have been horrible because they're really an effective rescue/adoption group. She has a great program called 'Compassionate Care' so if you don't have the money for a vet bill for an animal, you could submit a request and they'd take it under consideration and if it seemed to make sense, they'd help underwrite your vet bills."
"So some people stepped out of the shadows and started negotiating with a storefront at the Westfield Mall and we are set to open there August 1," she continued. "It will be a non-profit pet adoption center that will handle cats and dogs, and I do horse rescue, goat rescue, chicken rescue—if I could bring my horses there I would, but there will be information on the horses and barnyard animals, and if anyone's interested, they'll get sent over to my property to look at the horses and goats and the donkeys that are over there. It'll be a nice umbrella organization; I think they have two dog rescues they're working with, and they're doing adoptions in the Westfield Mall on the weekends. The store's not open but right outside the store they set up their tables every weekend. It's been very successful; there's lots of traffic there, and when people get used to them being there they'll increase their adoptions."
Those who'd like to sponsor the event can click over to the event's website, where there'll be a .pdf of last year's Sponsors Book and information about advance registration and sponsorship. You don't have to pay right away if you don't want to, but preregistering gets you a $10 discount on entry to the event and the tournament.
So mark your calendar now for what may be the hottest adult (sort-of) event of the summer, with all profits going to make the world a bit safer for our little (and some big) furry friends.
