Freeman created a new exhibit concept for eight Teas city and convention visitors bureaus that received a top award at the recent American Society of Association Executives

annual meeting in San Diego.  The exhibit was named “Best In Show - First Place” in the Island Booth category. 

The island booth had eight pods containing the eight visitor bureaus within the state of Texas, all surrounding off of a center island that had a stage for live musical performances.  This also supplemented by a bar that served refreshments Texas style to participants.  The cities of Arlington, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Grapevine, Houston, Irving, and San Antonio, were grouped together for the exhibit. Sounds like an elaborate exhibit booth but as they say everything is BIG in Texas–well at least elaborate in Texas.  Congratulations from all of us at Convention Insider and Conventions.net to the folks at Freeman on their award.

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I am an avid BBQ fanatic. In fact the title of this post is a bit misleading given the fact that I often barbecue here in Colorado while it is snowing. I actually had them make sure I had a gas line in the perfect spot when I had

my home built so that I could get to my grill quickly and use it often. Grilling is a part of our everyday life. As we made dinner I was inspired to check out the National BBQ Association and find out where they

would be holding their annual convention. Turns out they are headed to Texas!

The trade show is scheduled to take place in Austin, Texas on February 17-21, 2009. The theme for the event is awesome:

“BBQ, Brews and Blues in the Heart of Texas”

The theme makes me want to register today!

The City of Austin is the perfect place for the event, not only because of the fact that when you think Texas you think BBQ and in fact Austin is the Capital of Texas BBQ, but the City of Austin is known for its music scene and its famous night life. I just spent a few days in Austin in the Spring this year and I think it is the perfect location for the event.

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I have been trying to prepare for my trip to Austin over the last few days and I swear I make myself crazy as a result of the procrastination in am guilty of each time.  Whenever I travel I get stressed as a result of not giving myself enough time to pack, and get to the airport for the trip.  I am the last to give travel tips to you road warriors out their that travel to a number of cities each year to participate in conferences, trade shows, conventions or events. I suppose if I could give tips it would be the opposite of what I do, sort of the do as I say not as I do type situation. 

One of the things I do at the last minute is to make my travel plans.  I always seem to pay more for flights and have trouble getting to the destination because I don’t start thinking of the trip until it is on my radar. It usually doesn’t get on the radar until a couple of days before I need to be at my destination.  I am confirmed for speaking at a conference in Portland in May and I could just as easily have booked my trip there when I made reservations to where I am going now in Austin.  I also end up paying a premium fee for conventions because I don;t take advantage of the early bird specials.  I guess the tip I’m trying to give out here as free advice is don;t be a procrastinator like me!

I’ll be posting some pictures and posts from the SXSW Convention in Austin, Texas this week and on the weekend so stay tuned for some action shots.  This convention is referred to by some as “Spring Break for Geeks.”  I’m not sure I fit that title, but it is a working week for me as I attend parties and listen to live music.  Yes, it is a tough job but someone has to do it.

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Last year at this time I was getting prepared to head down to Austin, Texas to attend a very large conference in the interactive media world known as South By Southwest or more commonly known as SXSW. 

The conference that every spring takes the city of Austin by storm is geared up to launch again on March  7-16, 2008 for 9 days of total conference mayhem.  The section I attended last year was the SXSWi or the Interactive portion of the conference, but it also has a music component and a film section.  They bring many like minded individuals together for this conference.  This from their History:

The music event has grown from 700 people in 1987 to nearly 10,000 people. As Austin has grown and diversified, film companies and high-tech companies have played a major role in the Austin and the Texas economies. In 1994, SXSW added a film and interactive component to accommodate these growth industries. SXSW Film and SXSW Interactive events attract approximately 7,000 people to Austin every March.

That translates into some great revenues for the people of Austin and a great boost to the economies of small businesses, especially the bars on 7th Street.  As I remember it, there was was live band playing at nearly every bar on what I liken to the strip in Las Vegas in the City of Austin.

I had a wonderful experience when registering last year and was upgraded to a suite that was canceled by a previous registrant.  All in all, I give the organizers an A+ for my memory of the event and the way it was organized.  I am still trying to get my way back to Austin to experience the conference again this year.  Now if I can just find someone to pay for the trip!

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