This morning Cameron and I drove down to the Southpoint Casino to attend the BabyTime Expo. We were lured by their colorful website and attractive offers of valuable information for parents of newborns and infants. I was expecting something along the lines of a gun show, or a boat show, with the operative focus on babies. I’ve never attended a baby expo, but I’ve attended plenty of other shows that revolve around shooting things, driving things, or computing things, so I felt this was a fair expectation.
What I was not expecting, was something far more… pathetic. For the most part, I was correct. It was arranged as a typical trade show focused on babies and there were a number of vendors in the exhibit hall displaying wares related to the care and nurturing on infants. Given the size of the crowd waiting to get into the exhibit hall though, I was more than a little underwhelmed to discover the actual size of the show.
The exhibit space appeared to be right around 15k sqf. What vendors were present didn’t seem to have the focus that you would normally associated with a trade show that has a noun in its name. Alternating with exhibits on over priced gimmick blankets and sippy cups, were booths devoted to landscaping, Mary Kay cosmetics, and California Balsamic Vinegar.
I’m not using hyperbole when I claim that we spent more time in line waiting to buy tickets, than we did actually in the show room. I took some pictures that were intended to display the disparity between the length of the entrance line and the volume of vendors, but in the end it didn’t even seem worth the trouble.
