Had the Mayor Jun Choi the other night with a spare ribs appetizer- very tasty.
EDISON — from www.mycentraljersey.com – A porn convention that debuted last year in a Raritan Center facility despite opposition from Edison’s mayor is set to return, on a much larger scale this September.
The township will do “everything within its power to stop the event from occurring,” according to township spokesman Jerry Barca.
“The township believed it had assurances from the Expo Center that this event would not be returning to Edison. This type of activity does not belong in Edison,” Barca said Wednesday.
Last year, the convention was relocated at the last minute to the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center in Edison after it encountered strong opposition and the threat of legal action from officials in Secaucus, where the event was originally scheduled to be held at the Meadowlands.
The move to Edison last year drew protests from Mayor Jun Choi, [pictured] who criticized the event but said the township was not in a legal position to stop it.
“There’s no place for it in our community. This is a family-oriented town with lots of young people and one of the largest school districts in the state,” Choi said last year.
J. Handy, owner and director of Victory Tradeshow Management, the producers of the convention, said, “Last year’s event was unbelievably well-attended despite all the road bumps we faced.”
He said over 18,000 people attended the convention.
Handy said nothing untoward took place at last year’s event, which featured dozens of adult film stars, product exhibitions and performances over three days.
He said the convention center has been a “super-gracious host” and he does not anticipate any major roadblocks this year.
Officials at the Expo Center could not be reached before press time.
“All the reasons for which we were cleared on last year like the convention center not having a liquor license still hold good,” Handy said.
The suit filed by Secaucus officials had alleged the convention violated state law prohibiting liquor license owners from presenting pornographic material.
The convention, called EXXXOTICA Expo, is scheduled for Sept. 25-27.
Boosted by the success of last year’s debut event, organizers plan to expand the scale of the event.
“We are going to use up the entire hall this year, as opposed to one corner of it last year, thereby doubling the space for exhibitors,” Handy said.