Trade Show News Network has selected the five finalists for our 2017 TSNN “Best of Show” awards. We asked show organizers to tell us why they believed their show was “best,” and the shows listed below are ones that we believe exemplify true innovation in the trade show industry.

Now, we need all of YOU to vote for the show that you think deserves to be named the Best of Show. The overall winner will be announced at the TSNN Awards, which honors the top 50 fastest-growing U.S. trade shows and is set for Aug. 21-23 in New Orleans.

In response to customer demand and in pursuit of an ongoing effort to grow its group business throughout Las Vegas, MGM Resorts International has officially broken ground on an approximately $130 million expansion of the MGM Grand Conference Center.

Scheduled to be completed at the end of 2018, the project entails a 250,000 square foot expansion of the facility that will increase its footprint to more than 850,000 sq. ft.

Trade Show News Network (TSNN) has named 20-year trade show industry leader Sandy Voss, vice president of Informa Exhibitions, as the 2017 TSNN Awards Industry Icon Honoree.

Voss will be celebrated at the 2017 TSNN Awards celebration (www.T-awards.com), which is on tap Aug. 21-23 in New Orleans and collocated with Connect Expo.

Two major trade show producers recently have added specialty conventions to their extensive event portfolios.

Reed Exhibitions acquired the Tiny House & Simple Living Jamboree, a consumer event focused on the growing tiny house movement.

The event will collaborate with the National Tiny House Jamboree to host the world’s largest tiny house and simple living consumer convention, set for Oct. 27-29 at the Arlington Convention Center in Arlington, Texas.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority’s Board of Directors gave final approval for the $1.4 billion expansion and renovation of the Las Vegas Convention Center, paving the way for 600,000 new square feet of meeting space.

“Today marks a monumental occasion for not only the LVCVA, but also the entire destination,” said Rossi Ralenkotter, LVCVA President and CEO.

At the 2017 Licensing Expo, held May 23-25 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, the power of the brand story was evident to the more than 16,000 attendees and 406 exhibiting companies, including 185 new exhibitors.

The overall focus of the licensing industry is to help brands expand into new businesses, with licensing providing the necessary brand exposure in these new categories.

Visitors at the event were greeted by bright primary colors and an abundance of mascots and costumed characters.

For the fourth year in a row, the International Association of Exhibitions and Events spearheaded #ExhibitionsDay, held June 6-7 in Washington, D.C., at which 112 trade show professionals had more than 100 face-to-face meetings with congressional representatives on Capitol Hill.

Urban Expositions scooped up the U.S. Coffee Fest event portfolio from Lifestyle Events,  which includes the 2017 Coffee Fest Chicago and Portland events, along with the 2018 Baltimore and Denver shows. 

Coffee Fest trade shows launched 25 years ago and focus on the coffee, tea and beverage industry.

According to PCMA’s recently released Convene 2017 Annual Salary Survey, most meeting professionals are happy to be working in the profession, 75 percent have earned an average increase of six percent within the last year and nearly 40 percent are dissatisfied with their salaries.

Published last month in Convene, the survey has served as an industry benchmark for several decades.

Houston First Corporation’s supplier diversity program has experienced its biggest increase in participation numbers since the program’s genesis almost five years ago. 

Participation by small, minority and women-owned business enterprises (MWBE) for 2016 measured at 41 percent, an increase of nine percent, compared with its 32 percent participation rate in 2015.