More than 220 attendees, which included top-level association and for-profit executives from companies worldwide, gathered June 1 at the JW Marriott in Washington, D.C., along with 37 sponsors, eight media representatives and seven meeting and trade show industry associations, to network and learn about the latest trends.

Sam Lippman, president and founder of Lippman Connects, which produces the event, said that this year’s ECEF had not only a record number of sponsors, but also a record number of new sponsors.

What began as an experiment in the 1950s to see how American Rental Association (ARA) members and rental store owners would respond has now become the largest equipment rental trade show in the world.

It all started in January 1956, when 29 rental operators gathered in a Kansas City, Mo., restaurant for their first Annual Meeting. January was chosen because it was the slow season for rental business, and members
could more easily be away from their stores.

UBM continues to expand its portfolio in the U.S. with the acquisition of Content Marketing Institute, which produces the annual Cleveland, Ohio-based event – Content Marketing World.

In addition, CMI holds the annual Intelligent Content Conference, as well as has media channels and marketing services that support and inform the content marketing community.

Video gamers likely are rejoicing today, with the Entertainment Software Association, producers of the annual E3 Expo for the video gaming industry, unveiling a new event – E3 Live - that will be open to the public.

On tap June 14-16 at L.A. Live, the same time as E3 Expo next door at the Los Angeles Convention Center, video gamers will have the opportunity to enjoy video games, music, competitions and video game swag from some of the biggest names in the industry.  

The Cobo Center’s green efforts are paying off, with the Detroit-based venue snagging the Sustainable Brands conference next year, which previously was held in San Diego.

“Sustainable Brands has been committed to reducing and managing the environmental impact of our flagship conference for years now and we are excited to be bringing our community to Cobo Center in May 2017,” said David Fiss, executive producer of Live Events at Sustainable Brands.

At the 1928 conference of the National Association of Greenkeepers of America (now known as the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America), 350 participants gathered at the Hotel Fort Shelby in Detroit to see the latest innovations in golf course maintenance equipment and technology from 27 exhibitors.

Fred A. Burkhardt from Cleveland, Ohio, spearheaded efforts to launch the National Greenkeepers Golf Show, with the goal of offering collaboration opportunities for golf course managers to exchange ideas and strengthen

With the subject of food safety in the news after various recalls across the United States, it’s no wonder the 18th Annual Food Safety Summit, held recently for the first time in Rosemont, attracted nearly 1,700 registered food safety professionals.

Attendance was a 12-percent increase in registered attendees, compared with last year’s event, and more than 200 exhibiting companies also were on the showfloor, a 20-percent increase from 2015. 

Forget early morning yoga. Though it’s a popular event at trade shows and conferences, it tends to in most cases to only attract a few die-hard enthusiasts, says Dr. Kim, president and CEO of X bytes, a byte-size wellness company.

A much better solution would be to focus on combatting mid-morning and mid-afternoon sitting fatigue with a fitness break. Going a step further? How about turning your networking meeting into a cycling class?

Candied bacon and cold beer were just some of the offerings that whet the appetites of attendees at the Reed Exhibitions’ National Hardware Show that took place May 5-7 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. A global gathering of products for DIY home improvement, the event spanned about 600,000 net sq. ft., similar to last year, and featured 2,800 exhibitors, including 700 first-timers. It’s expected to attract about 30,000 attendees.

Revenues for the Marketing & Events Division of Viad, which is Global Experience Specialists, dipped 8.1 percent in the first quarter of 2016 to $236.1 million, compared with $256.9 million during the same period in 2015.

“We saw lower year-over-year revenues during Q1 from corporate clients and short-term event bookings,” said Steve Moster, Viad’s president and CEO. “This was really due to a shift in timing, as we’re seeing stronger activity in the back half of 2016. “