An early tally of Friday night's numbers show attendance was up 15 percent over last year, the event promoter said Saturday.
EDISON - For the third straight year, the New Jersey Exxxotica is continuing to break attendance records, thanks in large part what appears to be the willingness of women to visit the adult expo, according to event promoter Daniel Adams.
An early tally of Friday night's numbers show attendance was up 15 percent over last year, Adams said Saturday.
Also up this year are the number of women who came to the expo with a spouse or friend, Adams said. Part of the reason is a "Ladies Free Friday" night, where the $39.99 admission is waived for females 18 and older.
Another reason may be a sign of the times, Adams said, citing the popularity of books and movies like "50 Shades of Grey."
"People are becoming a little bit more accepting of Exxxotica, especially women," Adams said. "Those walls have gone down a little bit and hopefully they will continue to go down."
Exxxotica is not without its detractors, however.
When the expo opened last July in Dallas, a local women's group urged the mayor to close it down.
"A lot of the sex trade does impact women and children who are not willingly participating, so our concern is with the victims of trafficking," said Roslyn Dawson Thompson of the Dallas Women's Foundation in a letter to Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings.
The group pointed out that the event was sponsored by online escort businesses other others dealing in the sex trade. They also criticized local officials for allowing the event to be held on city-owned property.
The mayor later said he was "deeply concerned" about the convention, according to the Dallas Morning News.
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Exxxotica organizers say they've had no trouble at the expo.
The show's program states that anyone engaging in misconduct will be removed from the expo.
There were no incidents at the expo Friday night, Adams said.
"We never have any problems," Adams said. "Everybody is just here to have a good time."
Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.