PoleCon 2026 Updates from the Survey

June 26, 2026
Colleen
from the HBIC

Thank you to everyone who took our survey! We read every response. <3

*this is REALLY long. Thanks in advance to everyone that reads it!*

“This was my first time going, and I had the best time! I performed in a group, but I’m looking forward to applying as a soloist next year. Thank you for a wonderful first experience!”

This blog addresses some common themes and links to previously addressed issues.

This blog also serves as a “report card” for status of changes we committed to do and for future changes. We were able to improve all the listed issues from 2025 to 2026! Hurray!

TL;DR:

You can’t please everyone. Someone loves something that someone else actively dislikes. <shrugs in exhausted entrepreneur>
Watch out for the pay for live stream as early as PoleCon: West 2026.
Sorry things are expensive. They are for everyone, everywhere right now, and it sucks.
Want to do see something different? Apply or encourage others to apply. <3

This year only ~9% of attendees took the survey. Which is really low, and we know does not represent everyone’s opinions or thoughts.

One big change we made this year was to switch to Groovio! We know that changes are hard in general but overall, the Groovio system is faster and more intuitive than previous systems. Also, since the owner of Groovio is in the pole industry they are much more receptive to making updates than the larger companies with similar products.

In the survey, people seem mixed on Groovio. Some people loved it, and some people didn’t. This year we tried giving people the ability to sign up for the free activities, but we still made people line up to attend the seminars/workshops/panels to actually get in. I think unfortunately until/unless we make a custom tool just for PoleCon (which comes with its own set of potential issues) we’re all just gonna have to deal with a tool that is “good enough” for most people. <3

I highly recommend using the cheat sheet! That is linked to the page where the tickets and general information is (this page). Everyone also should have seen the key facts page for the event which was in the description for the pass (this page). There is a lot of information published but once you’re in the app and focused only on info in the Groovio app it is harder to see. There is also a lot of information sent out in the newsletters which I hope you all read but some of you might not even get the newsletter or have it sent to spam. =(

The most common theme in the survey is… there is no theme

Often there is a theme that stands out but this time it really seemed like for all those that liked the food, someone hated it. For all those that liked the diversity in the showcases, someone else complained there was no diversity or that they didn’t like the beginner/intermediate performers and wanted more advanced. A few things about the most common specific issues:

Expensive – Yes, the event is expensive. We’ve written about it before so that you can be prepared (please note, some costs have gone up since this blog was published).

PoleCon increased prices on passes in 2026 and not on workshops. There will be no price increase for 2027 on anything for PoleCon.

Unfortunately, because the way hotels work, NOT having food does NOT decrease the cost. For whatever reason, we are charged either rental or the same amount for food (this is the same with every hotel I’ve worked with). I’d rather provide something to eat (I know, the sandwich must go) than nothing for literally the same price.

We understand this event is expensive. It’s *still* cheaper than many fitness conventions or professional conventions and while some people appreciate the food and some hate it, the value of what you get for a PoleCon pass is often more than many other conventions.

Unfortunately, the world keeps getting more expensive.

The hotel/food/rental costs more. The exhibitor services (the people that make the “booths”) is WAY more expensive (we locked into a price for 2024/25/26 and for 2027 it will go up 37% FOR THE EXACT SAME SERVICE – and yes, they are still the cheapest option in their industry…). The truss vendor is more expensive too, the hotel costs more, etc.

We understand if this means some of you cannot attend, or that you can do less things. =(

To try and keep PoleCon affordable(ish) for all involved, prices will adjust slowly on different elements of the convention. For instance, some conventions charge vendors and sponsors a lot so they can charge attendees less. Because the pole industry is entirely comprised of small businesses, PoleCon does not do this and instead tries to spread out the cost of running the event over sponsors, exhibitors, attendees, workshop leaders, performers, etc.

Workshop Leaders and Workshops

A lot of you really liked the workshop leaders but if you have specific instructors you’d like to see teach, please HAVE THEM APPLY. Applications will be available in October 2027. We ENCOURAGE all workshop leaders to be VERY VERY CLEAR what their workshops entail so that you know what to expect. *This is a work in progress.* We did have the most compliance this year than ever before!

We did add a way to sign up for the free workshops (this was another suggestion that we’ve received multiple times before). People seemed to like this? Some free workshops were very full so we may adjust the number of people. Comments were made about the sound system and the projector – there are mics! We may just do away with having a projector/screen because the room isn’t ideally set up for that. No, we can’t have the room cleaned between classes. And no, there will be no free workshops with a pole.

Vendors

This year a few people mentioned vendors and specific things they wanted to see. Please don’t tell me—please tell your favorite brands!

AND KNOW that even if they want to come, they might not be able to.

These past two years have been very challenging financially for all of us. In previous years vendor booths have sold out quickly and then this year after a lower PoleCon attendance for 2025, the booths didn’t sell out. People are feeling the squeeze, and some are choosing not to come. It’s expensive to travel and bring your items! Vendors can’t control if there are issues with the seemingly ever-changing rules around shipping and customs. Even vendors who are international who have US-based warehouses to avoid the customs issues now still had issues from Fedex!!! (I’m helping with this particular issue and have been dealing with it for WEEKS!! There is no reason why 9 out of 12 boxes showed up fine and 3 boxes disappeared halfway across the US, it just did. Shout out to Travis from Fedex who found the last missing box that was scanned into Baltimore where the tracking has shown it for weeks but he found it physically chilling in a warehouse Indianapolis… #behindthescenes)

This year I did reach out to several potentially-new-to-PoleCon pole brands personally and most did not even respond. =(
A few did respond that they are just too small to consider coming even when I encouraged splitting booths to share costs.

The Food

For 2026, we started breakfast on Sunday earlier so people could eat before their workshop! And the breakfast was new because we got new options from the hotel and people liked it! Hurray!

Also, as explained in detail under the “Food” section in last year’s blog, the ticket price would be THE SAME without food because hotels charge you for rental or food. This is unfortunately how it works with large hotels. I am working with them to improve the food however if I remove the food, you will still have to pay the same price.

Many people liked the new salad and most people reported hating the sandwich. The hotel said they will have new options for us for 2027. We are constrained by options from the hotel and no, we are not allowed to bring outside food in or food trucks.

Showcases

We received the same comments as last year regarding showcases: Some people liked that not-well-known pole dancers perform while other people would prefer that there be more “pole stars” performing.

“I would love to see a little more of beginner/ intermediate performances rather than many of the usual suspects, although the regulars are always excellent”

“there was also a LOT of low level performances, which is fine because of course those people need a stage, too, but so many people looked uncomfortable on stage or performing that it was hard to keep interest. “

This year based on feedback from last year, we did open up more pole testing times.

A few notes on specific incidents—there was an issue with the poles not being set correctly for the “girl scout” from the Comedy showcase so we allowed her to redo her routine in Youth because that was the only space available. No, it was not thematically appropriate, but it was the best way we could think to “make it right” to that performer.

Yes, a performer broke a glass frame on stage. Yes, it was an accident. Yes, props are vetted ahead of time and I catch a bunch of shit that is disallowed on the detailed performer page that all performers must click a check box saying they’ve read (did they read it? Some do…). Yes, we caught costume violations this year and yes, myself and the stage managers are human and not every prop or every issue is caught. We continue to do our best to catch things in advance and before they go on stage to ensure safety for all performers and to keep the shows running on time.

In terms of style – several people said the creepy showcase wasn’t creepy *enough*. If you didn’t like the selections, please apply. And yes, performers in ALL showcases, pitch a concept. We are limited by who applies and myself and the curators pick the best possible performers who represent the most amounts of diversity in as many ways as we can from the people WHO APPLY. So, you don’t like what’s on stage – please apply <3 and encourage other people to apply!

“I think each year gets better and better. The Bet On Black showcase was my favorite.”

“I love the diversity with in the pole world and seeing it on stage.”

“Always great and always diverse across levels, dance styles, ethnicities, and body types! The representation on stage is so important!”

We will continue to have a livestream for those that can’t attend in person. This year while the livestream did stream live, the playback was blocked for several parts of the livestream. We have no control over this. We will upload individual videos once we have them (which still might get blocked). Because of rising costs and the continued YouTube censorship issues, we may have to charge for the livestream in the future. I was surprised that several comments in the survey encouraged a pay-for livestream (especially since most people complain about costs I was really adamant about not charging for the livestream to keep some things affordable…). This payfor livestream may debut as early as West 2026.

Report on Changes from 2026

In 2025 we committed to do the following for 2026. I’ve included updates in italics and bold of what we did.

Work on improving pole testing experience for performers. We did open up pole testing during lunch, but it was not advertised in advance. Next year we will advertise it in advance. REPORT: We did this!
REPORT: Started breakfast earlier on Sundays and updated breakfast options! People liked it!

We are not changing:

The entire event to cost more than you want it to including (but not limited to) the hotel, the flight, the food, the ticket, etc. Since prices increased in 2026 for passes, we will NOT be increasing prices for passes in 2027.
Dress in layers for the challenges of hotel temperature control. (no one actually complained about this for 2026! Hurray!)
Plastic wrist bands are here to stay. Please don’t take them off while you are at PoleCon and yes, you can perform with them on. We have tried fabric wristbands, and they frayed a lot. The reason we have wrist bands is so that people cannot share a pass and so they don’t have to check in every day. (no one actually complained about this for 2026! Hurray!)
Grab and Go lunch. It’ll be about the same as last year. Hopefully better – there should be some new options coming. If you don’t like lunch, please bring your own or go to one of the many other walkable food options. This will not impact the ticket price and you will not be able to buy a “without food” option.
Gender neutral bathrooms in the PoleCon area (we’ve been doing this since 2019).
We kept our grant program going despite financial challenges!

Proposed Changes for 2027

The sum up of changes (sprinkled throughout):

Pay-for livestream
Different (I’m not going to say “better” because I don’t know what they are) lunch options

If you have other things that you’d like see or do at PoleCon, NOW is the time to talk to me about it. July through December is when the big scheduling decisions get made. January and after, it is hard to fit new things in.

There were other recommendations in the survey that we simply can’t do due to space or money constraints.

Generally, if you want to see more of your community represented in performers, vendors, workshop leaders, etc. PLEASE APPLY!

“I think PoleCon was an incredible experience, the people and the vibe are awesome and I can’t wait to do it again!!!”

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Colleen

Colleen Jolly is an entrepreneur and a pole dance enthusiast. She has been poling for 15 years, is the CEO of PoleCon and the Executive Director of the IPIA. She teaches pole, lyra, floorwork, and mobility online and in-person in the DC metro area. She has been active in leadership roles in several international businesses over the past two decades and is also an award-winning pole dancer, artist, writer, and speaker. She is certified in several movement modalities and wrote the book "Mobility for Pole" to help pole dancers move better.