HARTFORD, Conn.—Who says there's nothing new in the way of adult entertainment? Certainly not Dan Quinn, owner of Smash Pictures and a dozen novelty shops and strip clubs in the Northeast. As everyone knows, adult businesses are still suffering the effects of the current recession, so Quinn found an original way to advertise his club: Take a 12-foot box van, cut out the sides and most of the back door and replace them with clear plexiglass, then outfit the inside as a pole-dance stage and have his dancers perform their routines in bikinis for the enjoyment of passersby.
Needless to say, the van was a crowd-pleaser, with businesspeople—men and women—hanging out the windows of their high-rise offices and condos, cheering the gals on, while folks on their way to and from lunch stopped to ogle what must be the sexiest thing to happen to downtown Hartford in many years.
Of course, anything this attractive will also attract the attention of the local police, who showed up and questioned several of the personnel involved in the stunt—but with no nudity being shown, and with the van legally parked, the authorities were forced to let the free show continue. Word is, they investigated to see if the dancer van might be hit with a permit violation of some sort, and if the show had continued for a while, there might have been "public nuisance" charges levied, but in the end, the van just stayed till lunch was over and headed back for the club.
The stunt did attract the attention of the local press—well, Fox News and the Hartford Courant, anyway—but both declined to air/publish a story, so reporter Stephen Dunn wrote it up for the newspaper's online blog, complete with several photos of the happening.
"While the photos were a hit in the 4 o'clock news meeting, it was decided not to publish," Dunn wrote. "Good decision. We don't need to be promoting this club. It did make some pretty odd photos though ... Go Hartford. So proud."
Not everyone saw it that way.
"Go Hartford??? So proud?? Really???" retorted Pastor Jim Detweiler of the Hope Christian Church in North Haven in the blog's "comments" section. "There are so many great charity events and volunteers that are making a difference in our broken world. Is this the best use of a Fox News employees [sic] time and talent? If you are that desperate to find a news story why don’t you go down to one of the soup kitchens or churches that are ministering to the families in need in our capital city."
But most folks either took the performance in stride, or really enjoyed it.
"People in Connecticut are such provincial hicks," wrote Hadrian in response to the pastor's criticism. "Unclutch your pearls and take that stick out of your butt."
"That truck is great!!" exclaimed Donny. "Can't wait to go to Kahoots and get lunch with a view!! Does anyone know if the truck will be out again, and maybe there [sic] schedule? I'd like to see it in person!!"
So would we—and if Quinn does decide to publish a schedule, we'll reprint it here.
(H/t to Smash VP Stuart Wall for turning us on to this story, and Stephen Dunn for the photo.)
