Convention Update: DC Hosts Major Gatherings, Announces New Booking

Major Events and Anniversary Gatherings Headline DC's Summer Convention Calendar

Along with rising temperatures and sizzling fireworks, summer is bringing some of DC's most significant 2008 meetings and conventions:

• July 2-6: The National Education Association will attract 17,000 attendees who will spend $19.3 million in the city over the July 4 holiday.
• July 12-18: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority will celebrate its 100th anniversary with its Biennial Boulé; this show will draw 10,000 sorority sisters consuming more than 31,000 hotel room nights.
• July 27-31: The American Association for Clinical Chemistry's Annual Meeting and Clinical Lab Expo will attract more 17,000 attendees to its first DC gathering since 1991.
• August 17-21: DC plays host to the GE Healthcare 2008 User Summit, a major corporate gathering which will generate 13,000 room nights and $3.9 million in delegate spending.
  

Fancy Food Show Chooses DC for 2011

Washington, DC recently landed one of the food industry's most prestigious trade shows for 2011. The Walter E. Washington Convention Center will welcome thousands of chefs, retailers, restaurateurs and foodies for the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT)'s Summer Fancy Food Show, July 10-12, 2011. The show is expected to draw 32,000 people from specialty food and wine stores as well as supermarkets and restaurants, generating more than 22,500 hotel room nights during a month when DC's hotel occupancy rates are generally lower. When the Summer Fancy Food Show arrives in DC, it will be celebrating its 57th anniversary, making it one of the longest running trade shows in the food industry.