LIGHTFAIR Is Big

By Erik Skindrud

Landscape Communications joined close to 1,500 exhibitors at this year's LIGHTFAIR INTERNATIONAL in New York City. Next year's show takes place in May, 2006 in Las Vegas, Nev.

Close to 20,000 landscape architects, architects, designers, sales reps and contractors visited this year's LIGHTFAIR INTERNATIONAL at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City this April 12 through 14. Landscape Communications, the publisher of Landscape Architect and Specifier News and Landscape Contractor National, was one of close to 1,500 exhibitors at the show.

LIGHTFAIR is the world's largest annual gathering of lighting manufacturers and design professionals.

Attendance at this year's show was big, but fell short of numbers seen in recent years, said Paul-Won Hyuk Chung of New Jersey-based Sky Blue Lighting.

"Las Vegas (in 2004) was maybe 30 or 40 percent bigger," he said at the show. "More people like to go to Las Vegas. We are seeing more Chinese companies at the show this year trying to market their products directly, instead of through distributors."

Chung has attended LIGHTFAIR for the past seven years.

Visitors from China, Mexico, the U.K. and from across the U.S. visited Landscape Communications' booth to pick up magazines and sign up for free subscriptions (available to U.S.-based professionals). The company attends most landscape-related trade shows, giving visitors a chance to meet sales reps and editorial staff.

Visitors at this year's event are already looking forward to next year's LIGHTFAIR, scheduled for May 30 through June 1, 2006 in Las Vegas, Nev. Complete information is available at https:www.lightfair.com