NEW YORK – This is a place where you could sample the best, most perfectly ripened cheese you’ve ever had, followed by a bite of decadently rich chocolate, which is then even further enhanced by a shot of red wine, all finished off with a spoonful of the finest extra virgin olive oil to ever cross your lips. Now imagine doing that every hundred feet or so, over and over, until even the notion of a single sea-salt encrusted artisanal paper thin wafer seems grossly unappealing to you. That, in a nutshell, was our weekend at the 55th Summer Fancy Food Show June 28-30 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City.

When it comes to being hit by the recession, no one’s dodged the bullet, least of all convention centers.

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SAN DIEGO – When news broke recently that the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) was closing its San Diego office and canceling its 21-year-old winter boat show at the San Diego Convention Center, local boat dealers and small boating businesses were left high and dry.

CHICAGO – TS2 2009 – Total Solutions Marketing for the Exhibit and Event Professional – comes to Chicago’s McCormick Place July 20-23. 

HONOLULU – The Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu will host the American Dental Association’s (ADA) 150th Annual Session Sept. 30-Oct. 4.

SAN FRANCISCO – The city of San Francisco is exploring plans to significantly expand Moscone Center to compete for large conventions that it now must cede to bigger venues and prevent lucrative trade shows like Oracle OpenWorld from defecting to other locations.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) has a very important mission and purpose, made only more so in the current economic crisis. It is charged with the livelihoods of the 46,000 people in the city who rely on meetings for their income and the approximately 250,000 people in Las Vegas who rely on tourism for their employment.