Archive for Chicago Trade Shows
Navy Pier Chooses GES as Exhibit & Audio Service Partner
Posted by: | CommentsRecently GES announced that Chicago’s Navy Pier has selected GES and its strategic partner PRG as the recommended providers of exhibit services and audio visual services.
“GES is honored to be chosen as the recommended provider of comprehensive exhibition services at Chicago’s historic Navy Pier,” said GES President John Jastrem. “We look forward to offering an unmatched level of service to the variety of events that are held each year at Navy Pier, including the Chicago Flower & Garden Show, HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings Mid-America and the INSTORE Show.”
As Navy Pier’s recommended service provider, GES will provide a range of exhibition services, including exhibition planning and design, material handling, staging, producing signs and graphics, furnishings
and installation and dismantling labor.
“We are very excited to be a part of the new team at Navy Pier in Chicago,” said PRG Chicago Vice President and General Manager Randy Hutson. “PRG has a long history in the entertainment and events industry, and our team is thrilled to be joining forces with GES and Navy Pier to provide world-class environments for the clients of this great venue.”
Chicago’s Navy Pier offers diverse meeting space, exhibit space, banquet space and conference meeting rooms, throughout its complex, including more than 170,000 square feet. With breathtaking views of the
Chicago skyline and Lake Michigan.
Trade Show Food Just Got Better In Chicago
Posted by: | CommentsWritten by Helen Holzer
CHICAGO – Chicago Restaurant Partners, the exclusive food service provider for McCormick Place, is changing convention center catering one guest at a time. It has named internationally trained Chef Hans Lentz as the convention center’s new executive chef.
Lentz will be responsible for menu preparation and selection for McCormick Place Catered Service Operations as he works to improve the convention and tradeshow dining experience for millions of attendees.
His extensive global experience is evident in his creative food presentation, but he believes in classical cooking and in keeping food true to its origin. He expects the biggest change McCormick Place visitors will find in their dining options will be in presentation and taste. New menu additions will focus on health-conscious choices with a modern flair and items sourced from local producers. Attendees will also find international food selections and choices rich in Chicago tradition.
“We are changing the perception of convention center dining,” said Shaun Beard, general manager of Chicago Restaurant Partners. “Serving tens of thousands of people over a space of 2.6 million square feet does not have to mean sacrificing taste and presentation. McCormick Place guests will find the same quality that they would find at a fine dining restaurant, whether they are entertaining 100 or 15,000.”
David Causton, general manager of McCormick Place, stated, “We welcome Executive Chef Hans Lentz to McCormick Place and we look forward to providing exciting new dining options to our guests. As we continue to attract events, exhibitors, and attendees from around the world and across the nation, having Chef Lentz’s culinary talents is a major asset to our team.”
Lentz’s culinary career spans nearly two decades and 10 countries. He began his formal culinary education in his hometown of Cologne, Germany. From the InterContinental Cologne, he moved on to the Dusseldorf InterContinental and to general manager of the Al Bustan Palace in Oman, home to the Sultan Qaboos bin Said. Other stints included hotel restaurants in Dubai, Cairo, Guam, Puerto Rico and Istanbul, before becoming executive sous chef at the InterContinental Miami. In 2005, Lenz found his home in the top culinary post with the InterContinental Chicago.
The chef is an active member of the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs and is also a Culinary Ambassador to Germany for the Illinois Board of Tourism.
Pictured from left are Shaun Beard, general manager, Chicago Restaurant Partners; Karen Malone of the HIMSS trade show that McCormick Place hosted in April; Executive Chef Hans Lentz; Norris Orms, HIMSS; and David Causton, general manager, McCormick Place.
Las Vegas Lands New Trade Show
Posted by: | CommentsIMEX, a major international exhibition for meetings and incentive travel professionals, will have a version in Las Vegas in 2011.
The inaugural IMEX America is planned at the Sands Expo Center Oct. 11-13, 2011, and is expected to draw leaders in the U.S. meetings industry as well as representatives from convention centers and large hotels from across the country.
“I have long felt that there was a need for a new dedicated and business-focused show in the United States,” said Ray Bloom, chairman of the IMEX Group. “Earlier this year, we began conversations with the industry about the level of interest.”
The show is important to Las Vegas because meetings planners from all over the country are expected to attend. While cities, hotels and convention authorities also will be present to offer proposals to those planners, Las Vegas and its resort community will have the advantage of being able to show and tell with tours of their facilities.
IMEX is collaborating with Dallas-based Meeting Professionals International and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to stage the new trade show.
The main IMEX show has been conducted for seven years in Frankfurt, and the LVCVA and several Las Vegas properties have attended annually to pitch the city and its hotels to convention, trade show and meetings planners.
Chris Meyer, vice president of convention sales for the LVCVA, introduced Bloom at a press conference at the Venetian announcing the new show on Wednesday.
Meyer said IMEX America is a major breakthrough for Las Vegas, which has seen much of its convention traffic evaporate during the economic downturn. Through August, 2009 convention visitation is down 30.2 percent from last year to 3.2 million visitors, according to the LVCVA.
Meyer said he expects the LVCVA and local properties to step up their marketing efforts in advance of the inaugural IMEX show with presentations at the Frankfurt show May 25-27.
