Convention Insider (Conventions.net)

My wife is a huge CSI fan.  She records every episode of it so that she can make sure to watch them.  Now that the writer’s strike is over, tonight she got to see a brand new episode.  I’m not sure who is more excited about it being back on, her to watch her show or me to not have to hear about why the writer’s strike stinks.  Naturally, since I love to check out if there is a convention or trade show on a certain topics or industry I had to see what was available for crime scene investigators and where they convene.

A small world that it is, I found it right in my own back yard.  The American Academy of Forensic Sciences is holding a conference at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver on February 16-21, 2009.  The annual meeting is described as:

The Academy’s annual scientific meeting is held in February at which time over 500 scientific papers, breakfast seminars, workshops, and other special events are presented. The AAFS consists of ten sections representing a wide range of forensic specialties, and the annual scientific meeting gathers these professionals who present the most current information, research, and updates in this expanding field.

I guess the time not to commit a crime in Denver will be that week in Denver in February.  Criminals beware.

On March 14, 2008, downtown Atlanta was hit by a storm that included a tornado that caused serious damage to buildings, including the Georgia World Congress Center.  That caused people at the center to cancel the events scheduled for the weekend.  They quickly worked to get the center assessed and repaired, and by March 19, they reported they would be back in the game.  Events planned for this week began moving in on Monday after they had closed the campus for a full week.

In a release sent out Monday, the people at GWCCA had nothing but praise for those that helped them get back on their feet:

“We are extremely pleased that the campus is open and ready for business,” said GWCCA Executive Director Dan Graveline. “This is a great illustration of the strong partnership between the GWCCA, the Atlanta hospitality community, the city and the state.”

“Hundreds – really thousands – of people have worked to get the convention center and the city back to business. It’s a perfect example of teamwork and we want to thank our customers and the community for their support,” said Mark Zimmerman, general manager of the convention center.

This week’s scheduled events are the International Window Coverings Expo, and the National Propane Gas Association’s expo.  According to the National Propane Gas Association’s web site, some of the problems they are having is related to damage to their hotel accommodations at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center, a building that also suffered some damage.

One event, The Clinical Laboratory Management Association’s Think Lab ’08 Conference and Exposition that was scheduled for March 29 – April 1 was canceled. 

It does appear that repairs are forthcoming:

A team of architects, engineers and contractors are working with GWCCA officials to develop a timeline to repairs to the convention center. While definitive dates have not been determined, officials are confident that upcoming shows, including the Atlanta Journal Constitution Auto Show (April 19-April 27), FIRST Robotics (April 16-April 19) and DECA International Career Development Conference (April 26-April 29) will open their doors as scheduled.

Good luck to everyone at GWCCA on weathering the storm.  We also want to wish luck to those event planners and conventions and meeting planners that are also having to deal with the trouble caused by the storm and tornado in Atlanta.

A couple of weeks ago I was talking about the size of conventions and whether attendance was important or square footage.  Regardless of the correct answer, I was correct when I said:

This week is CONEXPO-CON/AGG in Las Vegas, Nevada.  This is one of the largest, if not the largest shows in the trade show or convention industry.  Is it judged by the amount of attendees or the amount of exhibitor space that is used?  The show that runs this week from March 11 – 15, 2008, is huge by square footage standards and by attendees.

It was almost prophetic as I read the numbers by show officials as reported by Trade Show Week:

CONEXPO-CON/AGG, the massive triennial construction-industry tradeshow that typically tops the TSW 200 each year it is held, broke all records during its March 11-15 run at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Show officials said the 2008 show covered 2.28 million square feet with 2,182 exhibitors and 144,600 attendees. The 2005 CONEXPO-CON/AGG had 1.84 million sq. ft., 1,965 exhibiting companies and 97,900 attendees.

Those are very impressive numbers and has certainly set a new benchmark as it relates to trade show size.  One thing is true in this industry, sometimes size does matter.  Congratulations to the event planners at CONEXPO-CON/AGG as they wrap up on what was certainly a mountain of work to put together the show.  Our congratulations also go out to the folks at the Las Vegas Convention Center for hosting the biggest trade show ever!

In our house this week it has been Spring Break.  I myself have a love hate relationship with the idea, because I used to love having the week off to go skiing here in Colorado, but now I have all my kids underfoot as I try to work.  It has been a trying time for me, but my kids are in heaven.  Parents are not huge fans of this time of year.

For many Convention and Visitor Bureaus however, Spring Break is a very important time of the year.  Those places with beaches are truly one of the most sought after destinations.  I suppose it is a result of being inside throughout the winter everyone is looking for some fun in the sun.  Many travel destinations may be hurting somewhat this year as a result of rising gasoline prices.  Last year at Spring Break, gasoline was just over $2.00 per gallon and this year it is exploded to over $3.00 per gallon, and that will translate to some of those wanting to travel to sunny beaches to stay home and enjoy their break without breaking the bank on travel costs.  I for one won;t be spending the mortgage of gasoline.

Many conventions and visitors bureaus spend lots of their advertising budget trying to get people to spend Spring Break at their locations.  It is one of the first chances they can reach out to travelers and get them to notice their locations and amenities.  Locally here, The Denver Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau is pushing to come and see The Denver Zoo over Spring Break.  What they don’t understand I think is the fact that it is already a zoo here in my house with all these animals at home!  Check with your own Convention and Visitors Bureau and they too may have a program they are pushing and you can find deals or ideas on how to spend your Spring Break.

[photo via margaritanitz]

Working in the online community you can rest assured I have plenty of time spent cleaning out many emails and moderating comments and trackbacks here on this and many of the other blogs my company manages.  The spam monitoring begins as I wake up in the morning and continues on until I lay my head to rest later.  I won’t say I rest my head in the evening because it is often morning when I get to lay my head down for slumber.  Much of the spam that is out there is related to the pharmaceutical  industry.  They continue to try to get you to buy the latest in miracle drugs.  It really is big business.

I would propose that they have a convention or a trade show in order to find a way to be less intrusive in my life.  They could have attendees come and get free stuff like cars and computers, HD-TV’s or many other extravagant gifts.  They spend huge amounts of money on their spamming and “direct marketing” and many of us take offense to the intrusion.  Why not spend that money on giveaways that make my life better and more enjoyable?  I might stick around to find out what that latest miracle drug is and perhaps find out how it may help me lose weight or go to sleep easier.  Better yet I have the best ideas for these companies that want to make my life easier or to make an impact in the world–pay for my healthcare premiums.  I may even wear a hat with your company name and sport your company logo on my car like the guys at NASCAR!

To be fair to the pill manufacturers and other pharma people out there, I should probably mention that there really is a convention that the pharmaceutical industry has and this year it is held in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.  The event is managed by Reed Exhibitions, who touts themselves as “The World’s Leading Events Organisers.” The trade show begins today and is called Interphex 2008.  If you hurry you might be able to get in by registering at the door.  Don’t worry though I checked they don’t have a session on spamming.  There are many other conventions and trade shows that cater to the pharmaceutical industry.  Obviously, when there is that much money being spent out there, everyone wants a piece of that pie. 

Well there really isn’t an association of hens out there that have their own association and convention, but if there was one I bet it would be held around the same time as Easter.  According to some of the reports I heard, eggs were selling at a price higher this year than in the last twenty years. 

There is an association called the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association and they actually have an event called the International Poultry Expo.  The next expo is scheduled to take place at Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center on January 28-30, 2009.  They list out some interesting points about their show:

• The expo has been held in Atlanta, Ga., for the past 61 years.
• The show is the world’s largest display of technology, equipment, supplies, and services used in the production and processing of poultry and eggs and for those involved in the feed manufacturing.
• All segments of the industry are represented: feed milling, hatchery, live production, processing, further processing, marketing, and all support activities.
• There were 895 exhibitors at the 2008 expo.

I’m sure they talk about egg prices and such at this show.  I was trying to be cheeky when I talked about an egg convention, but as always I am proven that there really is a convention or trade show for everything!

This title of this post was heard by me in reference to someone talking online about a cool new computer application and it struck me as funny.  They wanted to create some buzz or viral type word of mouth marketing around their product.  My humor was more pointed to the fact that I am always on the lookout for something related to conventions and trade shows and more than a little interested in conventions that are not so mainstream. I finally remembered to look up and see if there really was such a thing as a beekeepers convention and found some interesting sites. 

The California State Beekeepers Association has a conference and there is also a Honey Producers Convention that is take place at the Radisson Convention and Conference Center in Fresno, California, January 6-10, 2009. I can honestly say I don’t really want to show up for a conference where I might have chance to get stung, but I might just snoop around to see what all the buzz is about.  Okay, that pun was a little bit over the top.

The pet industry is a huge market around the globe, and like any other industry, it has to have a trade show or convention to support the many people involved.  My company actually helps manage a blog in the pet industry and I happen to know it’s big business.  Just stand outside your local pet store or look at the way we run to that window of pet shops to see the latest crop of puppies or kittens.  You have to be able to support that following, and the best way to keep track in the industry is to attend Global Pet Expo.

The Global Pet Expo will take place in Orlando, Florida,  February 12-14, 2009, at the Orange County Convention Center.  The 2008 convention took place in San Diego, California, and the numbers were not readily available on their site, but the numbers for 2007 were impressive.

“Global Pet Expo, the pet industry’s largest annual trade show, is presented by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA) and Pet Industry Distributors Association (PIDA). The 2007 Show featured 760 exhibiting companies utilizing 230,000 net square feet of exhibit space. More than 850 new product launches were featured and 4,600 pet product buyers from around the world attended.”

The site provides excellent information about their event and also provides other information about the show and the industry.  One of the things I found interesting as I scanned their site was that Labrador Retrievers, have been the AKC’s number one popular breed of dog for 17 straight years, and Bulldogs have moved into number 10.   I suppose I can file that under other useless knowledge I pick up while surfing the Internet.  I wonder if they have dog walkers and poop scoopers attending this event?

My wife and I were discussing the upcoming Democratic National Convention that is to be held here in Denver this year.  Her company in the guise of safety and sanity of their employees are going to shut their office down and have their people work remotely from their homes.  Many of the businesses will be doing the same as thousands of people invade the downtown area and the Pepsi Center (we lovingly refer to the building as “The Can”).

I was curious about other events in our area and ran across a very cool expo occurring September 3-7, 2008 at the Colorado Convention Center.  I love my current home theater system and surround sound that we had installed when we purchased our house, but as always it is becoming outdated with all the other consumer electronics that are busting on the scene.  The kind of stuff that makes your mouth water and your eyes pop out.  The convention I refer to is the CEDIA Expo and they help vendors and suppliers in the industry:

“As the #1 show in the residential electronic systems industry, CEDIA EXPO offers you the most networking, incredible special events and speakers, and the world’s leading residential electronic systems education and certification. CEDIA EXPO is where new companies become profitable, and where established companies create record-breaking years.”

I was curious however to see that you must be at least 18 years old in order to attend the expo.  It makes me wonder what they will be doing at the show and what will be playing on those home theater systems.  I think they must be showing some programs from cable!

Running through a magazine I saw an advertisement for a convention center in New Jersey called Wildwoods Convention Center.  The part that caught my eye was not the fact that its a 260,000 square foot facility, or that it has 86,000+ square feet of exhibit space, 11,700 feet of ballroom space, or any of the other amenities that comes with the package but that is is on a beach!  Their tagline is great:

“260,000 square feet smack dab on 5 miles of beach.”

This is such a different look for a convention center.  I can’t imagine having a the boardwalk right outside the door of a facility, but they have apparently pulled it off.  The center has been open for business since 2002.  Try attending an event here and then kick off your shoes and get some sand in your toes.