ORLANDO, Fla. – PoleCon International — a pole-dancing convention initially scheduled to come to Orlando in 2024 — announced that the event would not return to Florida due to the recently passed Protection of Children law.
The law restricts venues from allowing children into “adult live performances” that may have sexually explicit material considered unsuitable for children.
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According to the text, state officials would be allowed to suspend or revoke the licenses of certain businesses and issue fines if they knowingly allowed children into such events.
Organizers for PoleCon announced that they had prepared to host the convention in Orlando in 2024, but the venue they wanted to work with ultimately rejected the event due to the admission of children.
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“(The hotel) could not afford to risk losing their liquor license for having children allowed to be at PoleCon in their space because of this particular law,” the group’s website reads. “PoleCon refused to get rid of the Junior ticket or the Youth Showcase because we respect that children pole dance and caretakers of children pole dance who sometimes need to bring those children with them to events.”
PoleCon founder Colleen Jolly told News 6 that Junior ticket holders account for less than 10% of attendees every year.
“PoleCon celebrates all people who pole dance for fun, fitness or for work, which includes under 18 people and people who dress in a way that is not in accordance with their ‘gender assigned at birth,’” Jolly said.
The issue of children attending adult live performances took hold in Florida following a Christmas drag queen performance in Orlando last year at The Plaza that reportedly included “simulated sexual activity.”
Undercover detectives found that children attended the event, where performers were seen simulating acts “involving sexual activity,” such as humping, mimicking fellatio and “swinging what appeared to be male genitalia.”
However, Jolly added that organizers had only spoken with hotel staff about the issue, meaning no state officials had made the call that PoleCon would be unsuited for children.
A state judge granted an injunction against the Protection of Children law last month amid a lawsuit filed by Hamburger Mary’s, a drag-show restaurant in Orlando. The restaurant claimed that the law dissuaded people from bringing children to their restaurant, resulting in a loss of revenue.
Florida officials have since appealed that injunction, explaining that the law wouldn’t directly impact Hamburger Mary’s due to its lack of sexually explicit material.
In addition, Jolly said that HB-1521 — which requires that people in public facilities use bathrooms that align with their sex — also factored into the decision to remove PoleCon from Florida.
“The bill would impact airport bathrooms, rest stop bathrooms, and other public places that attendees might need to visit as they travel to PoleCon, making it unappealing for trans or non-binary people to want to come to the event,” she wrote.
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