ROSEMONT, Ill.—The Windy City lived up to its name last weekend as thousands of fans blew into the neighboring Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, located just northwest of the Chicago city center, to meet and greet their favorite adult stars at eXXXtacy 2010.
Produced by Taboo Productions, eXXXtacy 2010 featured three action-packed days of adult star signings, contests, giveaways, stage shows and performances. Stretched out over more than 200,000 square feet of space, the show attracted fans in droves.
The demographics of the show’s attendees were diverse. While most showgoers were single men (or groups of single men), the amount of couples and small groups of women were noticeable. It just goes to show that solid Midwestern values and being a fan of porn aren’t mutually exclusive.
The convention also benefited from a sports memorabilia show taking place downstairs. Many fans could be seen carrying autographed football helments, bats and autographs. Admittance to either show was free with paid admission to one.
The people in the nation’s second-biggest city clearly had a hungering for adult entertainment, and eXXXtacy delivered on all fronts. The last adult convention held in the city was in the mid-’80s with Ginger Lynn and John Holmes headlining.
Lynn made a triumphant return appearance for this show. She signed autographs and co-hosted Playboy Radio’s Night Calls with Christy Canyon live from the show floor.
“I’m from Illinois, so it’s great to be here to show my fans in the Midwest that I still love them,” Lynn, a Rockford, Ill.-native, told AVN. “I’m happy to be here with Playboy Radio broadcasting on the floor, and what can I say, I’m having a whole lot of fun meeting fans—some of them have watched me for a long, long time.”
Upon entering the show, a large booth from Clips4Sale dominated the space. Adult star Ashley Fires played a deft ringmaster playfully whipping willing subjects, controlling the vibration of a Sybian machine and getting fans to lube her up in a smoking hot black latex dress.
Immediately to the left of Clips4Sale was a booth for up-and-coming adult star Sea J. Raw, a tall, lithe beauty. Her space was equipped with a mattress upon which she instructed fans to lie down while she seductively gave them a professional lap dance they won’t soon forget. Raw was pretty much topless the whole weekend.
“I love meeting my fans and giving them the whole Sea J. Raw experience,” she said. “I’m wild and crazy and I want them to get wild and crazy with me. I like giving them personal attention, and a one-on-one lap dance does the trick perfectly.”
Also right by the entrance to the floor was Adam & Eve contract star Alexis Ford who was selling and signing DVDs seemingly by the boatload. Fans were treated to early copies of Alexis Meets Alexis, starring Ford and Alexis Texas, which streets tomorrow.
“The movie was so hot, it’s making me wet just thinking about it,” Ford told AVN. “Alexis [Texas] is so beautiful, it was so great working with her. Actually, it wasn’t work. We were so into each other, I didn’t even notice the cameras. The movie is going to be a big hit.”
RockStarPornStar.com, the site of Evan Seinfeld, also had an impressive display of star power at its booth. In addition to the man himself, the booth drew large crowds due to the appearances of new Wicked Girl Lupe Fuentes and adult stars Amia Miley and Asa Akira, who both appear in titles from Seinfeld’s Iron Cross label.
Fuentes told AVN that she begins shooting her first film under contract for Wicked Pictures later this month.
Also hugely popular among the throngs of fans was the first-ever Scandals of 2010 Tour featuring Joslyn James, Devon James, Holly Sampson, Melissa Smith, January Ryan, Demi Delia and former Arkansas Corrections Officer Jessie Lunderby (terminated for posing nude for Playboy), appearing live on stage together to take questions. These are the girls with whom Tiger Woods, Jesse James, and Reggie Bush allegedly have had liaisons.
Adult star Demi Delia, aka Gina Rodriguez, manages the girls through her DD Management Group. Delia herself has been subject of press attention for her alleged tryst with Angel star David Boreanaz.
“It’s still weird to see myself on the news,” Lunderby said. “This is the first time I’ve been to a convention like this. It’s all new to me, but everyone has been very sweet. I’m having fun here with the other girls too.”
The middle of the convention floor was ringed with signing tables for some of adult’s biggest and brightest stars. In the middle of all this action was an inflatable jumping castle and a large Twister mat that Phoenix Marie deftly used to showcase her flexibility.
Spotted signing at this massive setup was Lexi Belle, Alexis Texas, Phoenix Marie, Kagney Linn Karter, Janessa Brazil, Diamond Jackson, Ron Jeremy, Sunny Lane, Prinzzess, Nina Mercedez, Hillary Hooterz and more.
Adult stars with individual signing booths included Jessica Bangkok, Sara Jay, McKenzie Lee, Angelina Armani, Kelly Divine, Faye Reagan, Lexi Love, Sunny Leone, Mr. Marcus, Ginger Lynn, Monica Mayhem, Lexington Steele and Taylor Stevens.
Not only were top-drawer stars strutting their stuff for the adoring masses, there was plenty of opportunity for consumers to spice up their sex lives with all the latest sex toys, supplements and lingerie. The Screaming O, T.I.T.S. (Two in the Shirt), Video Village, Benwa, Twin Moon Creations and others were ringed with curiosity seekers and customers who shelled out their dough.
“When I saw all the girls appearing, I gathered a few buddies and drove down; we’re big fans,” Mike from neighboring Mt. Prospect, Ill. told AVN. “I got some autographs, took pictures with my favorite star, Lexi Belle, and I’m even bringing home some toys and lingerie for my girl because she let me come without her. I’ll be back with her next year.”
Other adult convention venues should take note of the Stephens center’s permissiveness—topless girls (with no pasties) were permitted and two full-service bars bookended the convention floor.
The Immoral Productions booth was a flurry of activity all weekend. Heather Starlet, Amy Brooke, Charisma Cappelli and the brand-new Jessie Andrews all signed autograph and posed for pictures.
The freshly scrubbed Andrews is looking to make her mark in the adult industry. She told AVN that she’s performed in roughly 15 scenes, none of which are out yet. The starlet from Miami is best friends with new Digital Playground girl Selena Rose; they both decided to jump into the industry together.
Immoral Productions President “Porno” Dan Leal was a busy man. Along with director and partner Jim Powers, the pair shot new volumes of its series Fuck a Fan, Hand Job Winner, Blow Job Winner and Fluffers. All four videos will be branded as the eXXXtacy Chicago editions.
“This convention really goes to show you that Midwest people love porn too,” Leal told AVN. “You can still have wholesome Midwest values and love porn too. They don’t get anything like this in the area, so the fans came in large numbers to buy adult products and meet the girls. Our booth was a lot of fun all weekend. The girls were fantastic, the vibe was right and everything was just well put together and enjoyable. We’ll be back for sure next year.”
Leal’s sentiments were echoed by adult stars all across the show floor. Many booths had sold out of merchandise on the show’s final day—some even the day before—which is a great sign for show organizers and the adult industry.
Cutting an impressive figure during eXXXtacy was the booth for PornstarTweet, a social networking aggregator for adult stars. It's fully-equipped RV was parked on the show floor and the company was broadcasting live all three days of the convention via Ustream. Busty blond Angel Vain and slender beauty Coco Velvett attracted scads of fans as they meeted and greeted the public in barely-there attire.
Joanna Angel’s Burning Angel booth also was a flurry of activity. The company’s contingent consisted of the colorfully tattooed Angel, Kleio Valentien, Phoenix Askani, Draven Star, Jessie Lee and Misti Dawn (clad in a skintight Spiderman dress) signing autographs and posing for pictures.
If the success of eXXXtacy 2010 is any indication, it’d be a safe bet for this well-produced and planned show to return next year.
