Nudes-A-Poppin

De Motte, Indiana, a tiny village (pop. 3,814) located smack dab in the middle of the conservative Indiana cornfields, seems an unlikely place for an annual, two-​day erotic dance festival. Nevertheless, for the last forty years, it has been the site for «Nudes-​a-​Poppin,» which draws hundreds of strippers and thousands of spectators from around the world to an otherwise quiet little nudist colony just off of I-​65, about a two-​hour drive from Chicago.
If you haven’t been to Nudes-​a-​Poppin and are curious about checking it out –and you should be, because it’s one of the most unique summer festivals in the United States –here’s what you need to know:
* Strippers and other adult entertainers from around the country compete by putting on short nude routines on the main «stage,» the area surrounding the swimming pool. The crowd hoots, and hollers, and anyone can take pictures. In a grand example of true Jacksonian democracy, anyone who picks up a paper ballot can vote for their favorites, just as the «official» judges (people in a cordoned-​off VIP area, often including various B-​List celebrities, and, invariably, Ron Jeremy) do.
* Just to be clear, there’s no «stripping» here — the girls start out nude, and finish up nude. There are mini-​stages all around the pool area, where the girls who have just gotten done competing on the main stage put on smaller shows. Spectators are encouraged to take as many pictures as they like. (There is a small group of male strippers who put on a routine, but other than that, it’s all women performing)
* Admission fee is $ 60 per person (or $ 60 per male-​female couple; we were pleasantly surprised by this, as it wasn’t indicated on the website).
* No alcohol is sold on premises, but it’s BYOB. You can buy water, soft drinks, chips, hot dogs and hamburgers.
* Parking is free
The crowd of spectators (I’d estimate around 600 – 800 people during the time we were there, though I am told turnout was lower this year due to heavy storms) was probably 80% dudes, 20% women, about the same ratio you’d see in a regular strip club in this part of the country. Most were clothed, but lots of others were letting it all hang out. Was a pretty diverse group: white, black, latino, Asian, all body types.
This was our first visit, and everyone there –the performers, the other spectators, and the staff –was friendly and polite. My girlfriend got a lot of attention (especially after she bought a revealing chainmail top from one of the vendors), from dudes looking to get photographs of and/​or with her, but they all asked permission first (often *my* permission rather than hers, but hey, you can’t get any more refreshingly hetero-​normative cis-​patriarchic than central Indiana, right)? Anyhow, if you’re female, and especially if you’re relatively young, come prepared for lots and lots of male attention (it’s actually a pretty good, space space for a young woman to practice establishing boundaries in that regard, come to think of it).
I guess that’s everything you need to know before visiting Nudes-​a-​Poppin for the first time. Also should mention that, although the Porta-​potties were abundant and clean, there are no bathrooms with sinks, so bring your Purell.