Love, Sex Expo in NJ attracts record numbers ... as patrons seek unusual entertainment

It was clear from the start that this year's Exxxotica Expo, billed as 'the largest event in the United States dedicated to love and sex', was going to be a record-breaking smash.

The 2017 expo is celebrating its 10th anniversary and hours before the doors opened at 5 p.m. on Friday for the three-day event, thousands of delirious, screaming females were already in lines wrapped around the sprawling New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center in Edison, New Jersey (NJ), clamouring to show their 'over 18' IDs to get inside.

Make no mistake, the men were there too, but they had to fork out some cash to get in as Friday, only, was designated free for ladies.

So, what's inside? A lot, as it turned out. Over 120,000 patrons showed up over the weekend to make new friends, to meet and greet hundreds of adult stars from across the country, to book sexy resorts and to discover the new world of 2018 non-motorised, electronic and digital toys, some of which make justifiable claims to go beyond the realm of human capabilities.

About 200 vendors had discounted 2018 products for sale that seemed to incorporate everything under the sun relating to love and sex - from board games, books, acrylic, water colours and oil and canvass art, massage oils, cannabis and marijuana-based erotic products to a dazzling range of adult toys, some from China and Japan that will talk back in a language of choice, online opportunities, clubs, parties, after parties, spanking sessions, fashion shows, dance performances, mechanical bulls, incredible edibles, energy drinks, power-packing pills, jaw-dropping caps and T-shirts, and a lot more. The jaw-dropping array would make Jamaica's dancehall diva Ishawna blush beyond recovery.

Music was everywhere, and the hypnotic reggae beats inside created a hype vibe to form a perfect partnership with the unusually warm November weather outside. Diane Fields, an extraordinarily talented entertainment coordinator from Hedonism 11 in Negril, electrified the stage with vacation giveaways to her resort, and she drove the audience in a frenzy with her wickedly acrobatic dancehall moves. American rapper and actor Tone Loc brought the house down with a riveting performance.

Next to a massive display by an adult webcam company was a surprise neighbour, XXXChurch.com. 'Church' was represented by modestly dressed ladies and gentlemen who told anybody that would stop to listen that Jesus loves porn stars. And those attendees who would sign up to the church website and post online photos for their really cool gospel of redemption were given free T-shirts with their photographs to the front and the 'Jesus loves porn stars' tagline to the back.

Learning experience

Apart from the powerful entertainment attraction that the show brings, many attendees also come for the learning experience to strengthen and enhance their love lives. Round-the-clock seminars in quieter areas conducted by relationship coaches and experts, teach everything that attendees wanted to know about love and sex but were too afraid to ask. Some of the popular seminars included the protocols of sensible and safe online dating, orgasm mastery, female ejaculation (squirting), and married and bisexual: 'You, Me, Her ... Now What's Next?'

"I had no idea that we would be such a smash at Exxxotica," company President R.J. Daniels told The Gleaner.

"We've always had a few orders at Copy Me, from adult stars and entertainers who resold the product on web sites and at live shows. But now everybody wants it and everybody can be a star, and my company is enjoying a huge surge of orders from just regular people who want to immortalise their manhood for all kinds of reasons," he added.

"The replicas come with options of added features that mortal men can only dream about, and the replicas make men and their partners feel good about themselves. Sooner or later, men and their erections travel away, find a new mate or die, but their replicas last forever."