The Association of Equipment Manufacturers’ CONEXPO-CON/AGG already is the largest show in the United States, and now it’s reaching new heights in South America as well.

CONEXPO Latin America, which debuted Oct. 21-24, 2015, in Santiago, Chile (Espacio Riesco), attracted nearly 32,600 attendees from more than 90 countries.

The top five Latin American countries besides the host country (in order) were Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Bolivia.

Just a few weeks before doors open, more than 1,000 companies from nearly 40 countries already have reserved approximately 553,000 net square feet of exhibit space for IAAPA Attractions Expo 2015, making it the second largest trade show floor in the event's 97-year history.

 Indoor space has sold out, and a limited amount of outdoor space still is available.

IAAPA Attractions Expo is owned and produced by the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA).

The Miami-based FIME Exhibition & Congress, consistently ranked the No. 1 medical trade show in the United States, was bought by U.K.-based Informa Exhibitions as part of its Life Sciences portfolio.

As tracked by the Healthcare Convention & Exhibitors Association, FIME attracts more than 57,000 attendees to its annual event.

FIME complements the Group’s existing collection of 22 exhibitions and in excess of 100 conferences across the EMEA and APAC Life Science markets.

The Las Vegas Convention Center’s need for renovations and new exhibit and meeting space should have already occurred was the consensus among top trade show organizers who spoke Oct. 22 to the Southern Nevada Tourism Infrastructure Committee.

In a candid fact-finding session, they urged the 11-member committee to think strategically about the Las Vegas future and its position not just as a U.S., but also as a global trade show destination.

The session was the third of five the committee was conducting before making decisions on what would be priorities for next year.

By Wendy Helfenbaum

When Kathie Canning first started working at Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center in the mid 1980s, it was a bit of a circus. Literally.

“At that time, we were the only concert venue; we did a lot of civic events, and we did the circus every year. It was very interesting when Avon came in to do a meeting right after the elephants left,” said Canning, now the OCCC’s executive director. “Many things have changed drastically since then; it’s been quite an amazing transformation.”

As the 5^th IMEX America wrapped up in Las Vegas, records were broken across the board, with a total of 3,100 companies representing 150 countries exhibiting, including 80 new booths and 56 expanded booth.

In addition, the IMEX hosted buyer program brought a record 3,000 buyers from 54 countries to the show, for a total 10,600 people participating in the event.

There were 66,000 business appointments of which more than 57,000 were one-to-one appointments and booth presentations.

Emerald Expositions has acquired HOW Design Live and the HOW Interactive Design Conference series (“HOW Design Events”) from F+W Media, Inc., a Content and e-Commerce company, for an undisclosed sum.

HOW Design Live is the largest graphic design conference and expo in the nation, combining five separate conferences into a single event focused on creativity, business and inspiration for designers.

F+W’s retained HOW Media Brands, including HOW Magazine, Print Magazine and HOW University, will continue to work closely with Emerald’s HOW Design Events.

By Elizabeth Johnson

Conventional marketing wisdom tells us “go where your audience is.” Recently, Facebook announced 1 billion users logged on in a single day, and earlier this year, global internet usage on mobile devices surpassed internet usage on desktops or laptops for the first time. These signs make it clear trade show planners and marketers need to invest more online.

Urban Expositions and the Retail Confectioners Association of Philadelphia (RCAP) have decided two is better than one and will collocate their shows next year. 

As part of the arrangement, the RCAP's Philadelphia National Candy, Gift & Gourmet Show (Jan. 9-11) formerly held in Atlantic City, will move to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Penn. to run alongside Urban Expositions' Philadelphia Gift Show (Jan. 8-11).

Donna Russo, who has muscular dystrophy, sits in a chair as dancers move around her in beautiful rhythm choreographed by Tam Warner, creating a profound and memorable experience.

This experience has been a part of showfloor during the Abilities Expos series of shows, which are geared toward people with disabilities and their families.

Lew Shomer and David Korse, owners and producers of the Abilities Expos series, were so moved by Russo and her group’s performance, they now have all teamed up to bring a documentary, “A Passion for Dance”, to the screen.