2010 Conference & Tradeshow Recap

2010 Recap
A whopping 8,268 event and catering professionals, operators, industry leaders and suppliers from 43 countries attended the 2010 Event Solutions Conference & Tradeshow in Las Vegas. Co-located with the annual Catersource Conference & Tradeshow, the conference is the largest professional event in the industry. Event Solutions offered educational sessions, panel discussions, exciting events, networking opportunities and an idea-packed tradeshow floor.

Conference Details

State of the Industry Discussion: Where Are We Now and Where We’re Headed
Monday morning, moderator Laura Schwartz, of White House Strategies, led a panel of industry professionals in addressing audience concerns about burning topics such as green events, pricing, design trends and shorter production times for most events. Audience participation was rich and all of the panelists acknowledged that the discussion was the beginning of fabulous conversations that continued throughout the week.
Panelists: Craig Bullock, Kuoni Destination Management Inc.; Branden Chapman, The Recording Academy; Kevin Dana, CORT; Steve Kemble, Steve Kemble Designs; Lara McCulloch-Carter, ready2spark.

Education Sessions
Response to the 2 ½ days of education sessions was overwhelmingly positive. Experienced and new-to-the-industry attendees alike found relevant business advice for their own events and companies. Sessions like Howard Givner’s “The Elephant in the Room: How and How Much to Charge” were standing room only and had attendees buzzing in the hallways. Topics covered included social media, customer loyalty, design ideas and the future of hybrid events.

2010 Spotlight Awards (Monday night event)
The Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas hosted a dazzling night of incredible food, hand-shaken cocktails and intense glamour. Ryan Hanson, of BeEvents Design, created an environment where award finalists and guests alike experienced new award show strategies and were pampered with first class service.

The award finalists’ work was exquisitely displayed through a high technical production produced by Firefly LA and it was a night of truly honoring the best of the best in our industry.

The celebration continued late into the night at Eve the Nightclub with dancing to the sounds of Liquid Blue.

Production Team:
Ryan Hanson, Executive Producer, BeEvents Design
Melina Beckett, Venue Host, Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas
Lenny Talarico & King Dahl, Design, MGM Mirage Events
Effi Shoua, Technical Production, Firefly LA
Steve Simmons, Technical Production, Staging Optics
William Shank, Technical Production, SWANK

Anthology (Tuesday Night Event)
Four hours of excitement and new event ideas were found at every turn during the Anthology Event at Bally’s Event Center. An eclectic mix of entertainment, design, technologies and creative cuisine infused together to bring an incredible night of over-the-top event ideas. After dining through five stations of delectable food, guests were awed by non-stop entertainment on the Torched Stage. The night finally ended after several encores by Maggie Speaks, an award winning band from Chicago.
Production Team:
John Garberson, Technical Producer, Creative Backstage
Richard Byford, Entertainment Producer, Byway Events & Entertainment
Nick Apap, Creative Designer, Royce’s Prop Shop

Tradeshow Floor
The tradeshow floor was packed with hundreds of new ideas. Exhibitors showcased event ideas including portable ice arenas, exciting new entertainers, the latest technologies in games and amusements and the hottest trends in design and décor.

Attendees previewed tabletop trend ideas and watched an interactive buffet building display on Wednesday morning.

Exhibitors reported meeting a new group of event professionals and found that the networking environments created at the conference were very well suited to building relationships.

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Thank you again to our 2010 Conference Sponsors, who helped to make the show a success: