Halloween Comes Early for Rosemont

It was a shock to longtime exhibitors and attendees when Trans-World Exhibits announced last October it was taking the Intl. Halloween Costume and Party Show and the Natl. Haunt and Attractions Show from its home of more than 20 years at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont to Las Vegas.

So imagine then the surprise when, halfway through the March 16-19 show, producers handed out fliers with the news that the show would be returning to Rosemont in 2009 after just one year at the Sands Expo & Convention Center/Venetian Resort Hotel Casino.

“The major reason we're moving the show back to Chicago is timing,” said Joe Thaler, CEO of TransWorld, which owns both shows. “I was looking for earlier dates.”

Although the combined show had been held in late February or early March in Rosemont for as long as anyone could remember, Thaler said he was shifting it to Jan. 16-19, dates not available during one of Las Vegas' busiest months for shows the size of his. Thaler said some in the Halloween and haunted house industry needed more time to fill orders before the busy October season.

“The trend is to move closer to January, February,” he added.

Some exhibitors said they didn't mind; others were concerned about the possibility of inclement weather in Chicago in January.

“Chicago's Januarys aren't nice,” said BJ Winslow, a first-time exhibitor and co-owner of Los Angeles-based Dapper Cadaver. “I haven't decided if I'm going to go or not. I can tell you that I would rather do another one in Vegas or somewhere else warm.”

Stephen Donnelly, owner of Denver-based Effectech, said he also would wait to see a preliminary exhibitor list before he signed up for next year's show.

But, he added, “wherever haunted house exhibitors will be, that's where we'll be.”

Donnelly said he wasn't concerned about the timing of the show relative to Halloween because the company's products – including the Black Hole, a spinning tunnel for haunted houses and other attractions – don't change year to year.

“I have to admit, it was nice to have nice weather for a change,” said Mark McDonough, president of Creative Visions and Haunt Visions, which has exhibited at the show for 15 years. At the same time, he added, snow never caused him to miss a day at Rosemont in all those years.

“I was kind of hoping … they would give (Vegas) a chance before moving it back,” McDonough said.

Thaler said attendance at the first Las Vegas show had nothing to do with the abrupt change of venue. He said he hadn't seen show figures by press time, but buying was “exceptionally” good and he predicted attendance was the same as or higher than in Rosemont last year, when the show filled 186,494 net square feet with 594 exhibiting companies and 8,903 professional attendees (not including exhibitors).

Not everyone agreed.

“Certainly, we've had better shows,” Donnelly said. “It looked to be down in attendance about 30 percent. … It seemed to us that there were some different people at the show in Vegas.”

Thaler agreed with the latter part of Donnelly's statement, saying West Coast-based attendees and exhibitors were at the show for the first time. However, even he wasn't convinced they would all follow the show back to Rosemont.

“I think that some will, and I think that some won't,” Thaler said. “(At) a lot of tradeshows, no matter what claims they make, I think it's easier for people who live in the region ... to attend.”

“Overall, it was not too bad,” McDonough said. “Sales were a little down, but traffic was up.”

As for 2010 and 2011, the show hasn't been officially booked anywhere yet, though Thaler said Rosemont was holding dates for him.

“The response to the show was excellent,” he said. “Las Vegas was a good home for the show. I don't know what options there are, but I'm planning on keeping it in Chicago until there are other time slots.”