Gift Shows Target Growing Basket Industry

Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 9/27/2004

Two gift tradeshows are combining their efforts to attract the bulk of the $3.5-billion gift basket industry. The Boston Gift Show and the gift basket educational conference Jubilee! will collocate in September 2005 and 2006, introducing a specialized section for the niche — the Jubilee! Gift Basket Pavilion — with approximately 50 exhibitors.

The joint show, which will premiere Sept. 10–13, 2005, at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, seeks to satisfy an increasing demand for gift basket resources at the George Little Management-run Boston Gift Show, said Lynn White, group manager for the 76-year-old semiannual show.

"This association with Jubilee! will introduce a wealth of new sourcing and educational opportunities to the market, further enriching the experience of retailers," White added.

Jubilee! organizers said they are eager to occupy the newly opened BCEC. The 14-year-old Jubilee! will adjust from semiannual to annual starting in 2005. The official event name will be Jubilee! The Natl. Gift Basket Convention at the Boston Gift Show.

The semiannual Boston Gift Show's move from the Bayside Expo & Executive Conference Center to the BCEC for 2005 and 2006 is a feather in the new facility's cap. "The BCEC is a place where their show can grow and expand, and the announcement that Jubilee! will collocate with the Boston Gift Show is further proof of that," said Jim Rooney, executive director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, owner and operator of the BCEC.

The recently completed 2004 Boston Gift Show, Sept. 11–14 at the Bayside, held court for approximately 6,000 attendees with 400 exhibitors within 80,000 net square feet. The last Jubilee!, Aug. 19–22 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago's Riverside Center, drew nearly 1,000 attendees.