Emerald Expositions has acquired The International Gift Exposition in the Smokies (IGES) from M&M Gift Shows.

Started in 2000 by Susan Mills and Jerry Mayer, IGES now is one of the largest gatherings of wholesale souvenir, resort and gift buyers in the United States.

The show encompasses two events – IGES and The Souvenir Super Show (SSS), the latter focusing on custom souvenirs.

Both take place concurrently in November each year at two locations in eastern Tennessee - Pigeon Forge and Sevierville - which are only seven miles apart.

In the past few weeks alone, terrorist activities have wreaked havoc around the world at places ranging from an airport to a nightclub to an outside festival to even inside a church.

UFI recently released the 12th edition of its annual report on the Trade Fair Industry in Asia, tracking the growth of the exhibition industry in the region. Net space sold at Asian trade fairs jumped by 5.6 percent in 2015 to almost 19.7 million net square meters.

Our research shows that 19.69 million sq. m. of net space was sold by exhibition organizers to their clients in Asia in 2015 – up from 18.64 sq. m. the year before.

The American Society of Association Executives has named the host cities where its ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition will be headed 2018-2022.

The meeting attracts thousands of association executives and hundreds of exhibitors each year, and also it’s the flagship education and exposition for associations and nonprofit organizations in the United States.

In 2018, the meeting will head to Chicago, followed by Columbus, Ohio, in 2019, Las Vegas in 2020, Dallas in 2021 and Atlanta in 2022.

The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association and Family Media signed a letter of intent to co-host and co-produce a series of baby events targeted at the juvenile products industry. 

“JPMA members have been requesting an exciting trade show experience that addresses the evolving business climate,” said Kelly Mariotti, executive director of JPMA.

She added, “By working with Family Media we can meet this demand and fuel the future growth of the association though developing direct consumer touch points, which are a high priority for our members.”

ICAST, which serves the sportfishing market, drew 15,000 attendees, making it the largest trade show produced by the recreational fishing industry’s trade association.

From exhibitors to buyers to outdoor media, representatives from the domestic and international sportfishing and boating community converged July 12-15 on Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center for the 59th International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades, better known as ICAST. 

The tradition of recognizing individual show managers across the industry continues, as event professionals are encouraged to “Show Some Love” with a free nomination for the 2016 edition of The Expo Group Show Manager of the Year Awards.

Since 2000, the crystal obelisk has been presented to those behind-the-scenes pros creating amazing experiences within their exhibition and convention.

The awards are open to any show manager, not just clients of The Expo Group. Any individual responsible for a trade or association exhibition is eligible to win.  

Las Vegas has a streak of good news with shows held in the first half of 2016 seeing major upticks in their numbers, with several reporting record growth.

Through May 2016, more than three million visitors traveled to Las Vegas to attend a meeting or convention. That’s a 12.1 percent, compared with the same time last year.  

The United Fresh Produce Association had a busy time during its show, United Fresh 2016, which was held June 20-22 at Chicago’s McCormick Place.

First, the association made another substantial donation to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, and second, it launched the Global Cold Chain Expo in partnership with the Global Cold Chain Alliance.

Besides the launch event, United Fresh is collocated with several other shows, including the International Floriculture Expo and FMI Connect.

The 2016 Dwell on Design (DOD) Los Angeles conference ran June 24–26 at the Los Angeles Convention Center and saw great attendance for the show’s 11^h year.