** KEIN PROBLEM WENN JEMAND ETWAS ZU MEINEM BERICHT ZUFUEGEN WILL IN DEUTSCHER SPRACHE **
Last Saturday I went to the erotic fair "Extreme Erotica Aarschot", organized by the 'American Bar Extreme' in Aarschot, Belgium.
I had some options (fair in Liege and a Gothic Fest near Amsterdam) and decided for Aarschot because I had never been there.
I usually don't report here after a fair because (a) I'm not capable of writing a detailed report like Nick or HJ does, (b) I can't use my mother language which makes it extra hard for me and (c) I usually am a bit disappointed about the lack of responses when HJ writes a huge report, which obviously took him hours to complete.
...BUT because there's NOT ANY report available about this fair, I decided to make some efforts (for future reference).
I had some problems finding the location (stadsfeestzaal, Aarschot, Belgium) although I had a GPS device with me.
-extra text about navigation-:
I sometimes read here on the forum about people with problems finding locations. I have a little device called 'Garmin eTrex'. A cheap version of this device called the 'Garmin Gekko' can be bought for 115 euro at Conrad Elektronik (conrad.de). You will NOT see a map and you can NOT enter addresses. You have to program the GPS location in the device (for example 51,12 degrees/4,89 degrees, can be found at maporama.com) and the device shows the DIRECTION (arrow) and the DISTANCE. It was really fancy three years ago, before people had Route 66 on their mobile phone and PDA devices with Windows CE. But still a cheap solution.
Anyway, the fair was the smallest fair I EVER visited. It was ONE big room. There were no paths or walls to separate stands, so you could see the entire fair from every point in the hall.
-DJ-
There was a real DJ at the side of the stage, who played vinyl records ('Schallplatten'). The music was TOO LOUD. You could not talk to someone normally ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HALL.
-the hall-
On the left (short) side (after entering) of the hall, there was a huge stage with a dance pole. At the opposite site of the stage, there was a bar. Drink tickets did cost 3 euro, which was really too much for me.
One long side of the hall had a stand with three Harley Davidson Motor Cycles (for posing), a lingerie stand and a stand with clothes. Next to the main stage was a stand with t-shirts and flags from Greece (????).
The other long side of the hall had a stand from a Belgium Erotic Guide (can be found at most Belgian fairs), a stand with pr0n DVDs (old American and German pr0n for 10 to 15 euro, no thanks) and two stages (one of them was never used).
-whirlpool-
In the middle of the big hall was nothing except a whirlpool (near the bar) and 25 (or so) chairs to sit down. This was really bad from a photographers point of view. At the Mega Erotica Fairs, the whirlpools have a black wall on one side, so you have a nice background for portraits of the models. It was impossible to take pictures without photographing the people on the opposite side of the whirlpool. Of course, I realize that the fair is not organized for photographers.
-Other photographers-
I recognised some photographers who shoot regularly at the Mega Erotica Fair, but not one of the photographers who visit the Mega Erotica fair mainly for the Photo stand where the models pose (Paul, Tom). The music was too loud to talk to other guests of the fair, so I didn't ask anyone about their opinion.
-small stage-
The shows at the stage at the long side of the hall were rather explicit. Unfortunately there was someone on stage videotaping the shows. I'm not sure how the film is going to be used; I don't mind being on pictures from other guests of the fairs (actually I do mind a bit, but that's just all in the game) but I don't want to end up on a pr0n DVD at the video-store, so I only watched from a distance.
-main stage-
As mentioned the main stage had a dance pole. All the show were just ladies dancing with the pole, like you see in American movies when the cops visit the nudie bar when they can't find the killer. There was nothing artistic about the shows, like the great shows from Doreen or Grace, who use costumes and laser light. At the end of the day, there was a dance competition. There were ladies from Belgium, The Netherlands and Russia (and maybe some other countries too). From a 'nudie bar' point of view (not that I ever visited one in Europe), the performances were alright and most ladies were looking beautiful.
-public-
What really surprised me was the lack of entousiasme of the public. They did absolutely nothing but watch, whatever the girls tried to do about it. Two times the ladies gave away hats and t-shirts to the public. If I was the organiser (Elena) I would have skipped that part, because we just didn't deserve it. The girls held their hand behind their ears for some applause before taking of their last piece of clothing, but without success. It was a bit embarrassing. There was just one beautiful lady visiting the fair, that had dressed in a sexy way. Two couples decided to use the whirlpool and showed some skin. A big difference to the Mega Erotica Fair. At the fair in Liege (Luttich) couples had free entrance when the ladies were nude under their coat or wore lingerie. Now THAT was a GREAT concept!
-harleys-
I did shoot some nice pictures at the stand with the three Harleys. The background, however, was horrible! Every 5 meters there was a big white sign with the name of the bar and at some locations there were three license plates with the text 'sex is better than drugs'. The license plates were terrible. Ever tried to photograph a car using flash?
-drinks, food-
As mentioned the drinks did cost 3 euro (a bit much). But what was even worse is that there was absolutely NO possibility to buy something to eat during the whole day. A big difference with the Mega Erotica Fairs where you can buy hot dogs, burgers, 'Fritten' and Kebab. Please consider selling at least sandwiches or candy bars.
-lessons learned-
Will I go back next year? Hmm, not when there are other nice alternative things to visit. Otherwise, maybe. For me the trip was not really far (just 90 minutes) and the entrance fee was not very expensive (just 10 euro). The girls were really nice and beautiful. Did I mention the music was too loud? I'm NOT a candid photographer; I like to ask people (models or visitors) if I may take a picture and interact with them instead of sneakingly trying to take pictures of girls like some others do. This just wasn't possible. I asked someone if I could take a picture of a beautiful tattoo (at the maximum distance from the speakers, at the bar) and I had to shout it in their ears at a distance of 5 cm. This was my biggest drawback. So people of the organisation - if you read this - turn DOWN the volume please!
The link of the American Bar Extreme is http://www.americanbarextreme.be (site went down right after the fair).
Mit freundlichen Grussen,
Marcel
18.05.2003 16:40
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