Equip Exposition celebrates its 40th show this year, and will be upgrading the attendee experiences for entertainment with a thank you concert at the KFC Yum! Center arena featuring headliners Third Eye Blind and Dylan Scott.
Equip Exposition, the international landscape, outdoor living and equipment exposition, announced it will now offer exhibitor space in the West Wing of the Kentucky Exposition Center (KEC) for the trade show being held Oct. 17 to 20.
Due to high demand from exhibitors, especially those with limited booth space in other areas of the KEC, this additional space allows for new and waitlisted exhibitors to be at Expo, as well as existing exhibitors to expand their presence at the show.
"Our usual footprint for indoor exhibit space is completely sold out," said Kris Kiser, president of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI), which owns and manages Equip Exposition. "And while the West Wing is different — it's been used for a wide range of purposes — it does allow existing exhibitors to showcase more of their products and in particular indoor demonstration areas. Taking space in the West Wing also allows new exhibitors to get into the show and ‘get in line' for space that could become available in other areas of the KEC."
Last year, all available exhibitor spaces in the KEC and every inch of the available 30 acres in the Outdoor Demo Yard sold out; Expo expects the same situation for 2023.
The historic West Wing of the KEC offers 170,000 sq. ft. of additional indoor exhibit space and is the last remaining unused area at the KEC for Equip Expo. It is one of its original structures and located west of Freedom Hall.
Kiser added, "The West Wing is ideal for indoor demonstration of battery product, and weather's not a factor for exhibitors there."
In addition to exhibits, the West Wing will feature the return of the popular New Product Showcase, the Drone Zone, and a business lounge for exhibitors and attendees during the show. Hardscape North America also will be expanding its exhibit space into the West Wing.
Equip Exposition celebrates its 40th show this year, and will be upgrading the attendee experiences for entertainment with a thank you concert at the KFC Yum! Center arena featuring headliners Third Eye Blind and Dylan Scott. Expo's house band The Crashers will play the show's opening party at the downtown Kentucky International Convention Center and Juicebox Heroes will headline at Fourth Street Live! on Wednesday.
"Thursday evening is a very unique event in a state-of-the-art arena to celebrate our 40 year history," said Kiser. "We're offering exhibitors an opportunity to host spaces and hold parties in celebration of our Expo family reunion."
A number of exhibitors and companies have reserved space at the arena for private parties during the concerts, "but there are a number of suites and venues still available in the facility," he said.
Expo 2022 was the largest show in the event's 40-year history, selling out all available exhibit space and posting record attendance — more than 25,000 people from all 50 states and 49 countries. The show brings over $20 million in revenue to Louisville, and books more than 32,000 hotel rooms during show week.
Hotel reservations are open and making plans early on where to stay is strongly encouraged. Registration to the show will open in April.
"I encourage anyone coming to Expo to act quickly — starting with reserving your hotel room," Kiser said. "Twelve of our show hotels are already sold out, and several more have limited availability. If you're going to fly in, book it today."
Hardscape North America continues to co-locate with the show.
For more information, visit www.equipexposition.com/exhibitor.
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