Founded in 1929, The Heard Museum has become a Phoenix landmark by showcasing numerous impressive displays of Native American art.

Photo/Courtesy Greater Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bureau

Helen Willard
Stage Expo Sales Manager

Goodbye Louisville, hello Phoenix. The ink is barely dry in the record books, and already we are busy planning ways to break the new records set this year in Louisville. With 193 exhibitors in 27,300 square feet of exhibit space, Stage Expo 2006 demolished the records set last year in Toronto, where we had 177 exhibitors in 26,000 square feet of exhibit space.

The final exhibitor signed up on Friday, less than a week before Stage Expo opened, and although all of the booths were sold, luckily we had a table space available for him to set up his display. Stage Expo 2006 opened with the "Call to the Post" by the bugler from Churchill Downs, who then played "My Old Kentucky Home" as hundreds of attendees flooded into the exhibit hall to grab swag and check out new products. Exhibitors were happy with the turnout, and more than 80 of the 127 booth exhibitors lined up to reserve a booth space for 2007.

Priority booth space selection for the next year's show is held on Saturday, the final day of Stage Expo. Exhibitors are scheduled in five-minute intervals, and there was a steady stream of people at the Show Office from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Over 80 percent of the available booth space was booked for next year's show, so Stage Expo 2007 is already well on its way to once again breaking the records for number of exhibitors and square footage of booth sales.

The 47th Annual USITT Conference & Stage Expo will be held in the Phoenix Civic Plaza, which is located in downtown Phoenix. Stage Expo 2007 will be in the PCP's Exhibit Halls D/E and the adjacent Ballroom, with the Tucson and Yuma meeting rooms located just outside the exhibit halls.

Conference hotels include the Hyatt Regency, the headquarters hotel, and the Wyndham.

Booth space selection will continue until all available booth spaces are sold. Priority space selection for table spaces will be conducted in the fall. Anyone who would like to exhibit at Stage Expo 2007 in Phoenix should contact hpwillard@aol.com for more information.

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