The crown jewel of trade shows for the meetings industry occurs tomorrow, Thursday, April 9, 2015. It is ASAE’s Springtime in the Park, this year at the Washington D.C. Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Springtime is over 30 years old, first launching in 1977 as Summer in the Park and taking place on an Astroturf floor. It became Springtime in 1980 and hasn’t looked back since.
The Springtime Expo typically has more than 700 exhibitors and about 3,000 attendees. The attendees mainly draw on the rich association market that D.C. attracts. While the professionals mainly range from meeting planners to association executives, there are also many attendees from government agencies and corporations.
Though the heart of the show is the Expo, the trade show is sandwiched between education sessions on the day before and that morning, and Springtime Foundation Events after the Expo and on Friday. The highlight of the latter is the Springtime Golf & Tennis Invitational. In terms of education there are learning labs and sessions ranging from marketing to preparing effective RFPs. CAE credits can be earned at these workshops. The General Session is highlighted by top-rated ASAE speaker John Spence who will discuss successful leadership.
EventRebels at Booth 106
The big deal, though, is the Expo which runs from 11 AM to 4 PM on Thursday. While the biggest class of exhibitors are destinations and venues, other meeting suppliers such as speakers bureaus, transportation and marketing are well represented. Technology vendors are also easy to find with services ranging from online registration to speaker management to mobile apps. You can find EventRebels at Booth 106.
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