Urban Expositions To Merge HauntCon With Halloween & Party Expo
Two of the biggest Halloween industry events in the world will come together to form one mega-event starting in 2018, when HAuNTcon merges with the annual Halloween & Party Expo in New Orleans. Read on for the official press release.
Urban Expositions announced on Tuesday (June 13) the acquisition of HAuNTcon, the Haunted Attraction National Tradeshow and Conference, a B2B exposition for the Haunted House Industry. The industry leading event, will complement Urban’s specialty portfolio which includes Halloween & Party Expo reinforcing the market position for the Halloween, Party and Celebration Industries.
HAuNTcon and Halloween & Party Expo will co-locate beginning with the 2018 event, January 12th – 15th, in New Orleans, Louisiana offering buyers an unrivaled one-stop access to the most comprehensive range of products and services to serve the needs of its customers, including Haunted Attractions, Costume Stores, Party Stores, Amusement & Theme Parks, Family Entertainment Centers, Grocers, Drug Stores and Gift Stores.
The events have joined forces to provide a new, enhanced experience for Halloween and haunt professionals. The cross-over between industry sparked the idea – bringing the power of two industry leading global brands to share industry trends, offer innovative and relevant education, and provide a collaborative environment for networking and business exchanges. HAuNTcon founder, Leonard Pickel will serve in an expanded role as an industry advisor working with the team on joint activities, including educational offerings, specialty tours and the infamous HAuNTcon costume ball which will allow visitors to the combined conference to customize their experience.
“We are thrilled to offer our customers this opportunity to develop relationships with professionals representing the entire spectrum of the Halloween market in New Orleans this January,” said Michael Carlucci, senior vice president of Urban’s specialty show portfolio. “This collaboration is just one example of our strategic priority to add value for our customers. We look forward to working with Leonard who brings a level of expertise in Haunt to our team”.
“HAuNTcon brings together people who love Haunted Houses, Halloween and scaring people, for four fun-filled days and nights of haunt tours, special events, education and networking,” said Leonard Pickel, HAuNTcon founder “Teaming up and co-location with Halloween & Party Expo allow us to take HAuNTcon to a totally new level that we could not possibly done before.” Halloween is the second largest commercial holiday, and Haunted attractions represents over $300 million of that yearly spend. Halloween attraction owners will benefit from an expanded exhibit hall, advanced education program and more networking opportunities.
Michele Biordi, Executive Director of the Halloween Industry Association and partner of the Halloween & Party Expo, added “The decision to co-locate these two events was made to offer face-to-face business and networking solutions to haunted attraction owners, as well as Halloween and party retailers, to network and share best practices all under one roof. The goal is to continue to offer customers – both buyers and exhibitors – new business opportunities and in-person connections within the industry.”
In all, the combined events are expected to bring 3,000 industry professionals and 350 vendors together under one roof.
For more information and to register your interest for the 2018 events being held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center January 12-15 in New Orleans, LA, visit halloweenpartyexpo.com and hauntcon.com.
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