Norfolk offers no wiggle room on Jell-O wrestling

NORFOLK

There's no room for Jell-O downtown, at least not for female Jell-O wrestling.

Two weeks after Mayor Paul Fraim denounced a Waterside night club for promoting Jell-O wrestling, the City Council learned that The NorVa, a downtown concert venue, planned to host a similar event Sunday.

City Attorney Bernard Pishko told council members in a closed meeting earlier this week that NorVa owner Bill Reid had canceled the show.

The news comes after Fraim used a proposed Jell-O wrestling event as one of several reasons to strip two Waterside bars of their licenses to serve alcohol and after an exotic dancer with the stage name "Thug Passion" had his "Naked at Sea" cruise on the Spirit of Norfolk canceled by the city.

Reid said the show was canceled Monday, a day before city officials called. The event was to be produced by an outside promoter and was booked six weeks ago, he said, long before the city stripped licenses to serve alcohol from Have a Nice Day Cafe and Bar Norfolk.

"It was canceled anyway because of lack of interest," Reid said. "It became moot, but we certainly understand the city's position. If the city had thought this wasn't something consistent in what they wanted in downtown, we would have said 'Fine.' "

Reid said he wants downtown to be successful, too.

"We want people to want to come down here," he said.

The event, Reid said, is sort of akin to Roller Derby. It "was just a silly little thing. We were just trying something fun, something different, " he said.

Reid said the venue will host a real wrestling match Saturday night. Because promoters knew the ring would already be in place, they thought it would be a good time to book a DJ and host the Jell-O wrestling competition.

The Jell-O wrestling is advertised on a Web site that identifies itself as All About Pleasure Adult Entertainment. Tickets were to cost $20 at the door and $17 in advance. Reid said he was unaware of the ad.

Guadalajara City Cafe, a downtown restaurant, was to host a before and after event party with female entertainers, according to the Web site. However, the restaurant's name was misspelled on the Web site.

Allen Fabijan, a spokesman for Guadalajara, said the restaurant often cross-promotes with The NorVa but knew little about this event.

He said he was told the show was to benefit handicapped veterans and that he agreed to donate a portion of his proceeds to the charity.

"We were just looking to donate to charity and perhaps draw some of the crowd from The NorVa to eat at our restaurant," he said. "We had no affiliation with the event other than that."

Fraim said the show was out of character for The NorVa, which opened in 2000 in part with a $500,000 grant from the city. The venue is used for small concerts and shows and has room for 1,500 people.

"They have really managed the property well," Fraim said. "I don't know how it originally got scheduled. I'm glad they determined it should not go forward."

Vice Mayor Anthony L. Burfoot, who also praised Reid's management of The NorVa, said it is no accident that promoters are trying to bring sexually explicit events downtown. The city of Virginia Beach was tested several years ago when promoters tried to bring a nude party there, he said.

"The Beach nipped that in the bud," he said. "So we're being tested now. They're testing our tolerance."

Harry Minium, (757) 446-2371, harry.minium@pilotonline.com

Meghan Hoyer, (757) 446-2293, meghan.hoyer@pilotonline.com