2011 Winter Fancy Food Show

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Parent Category: Expos and Conventions

Category: Previews

Published on Monday, 17 January 2011 05:31

Written by Lynne Shannon

The 36th NASFT 2011 Winter Fancy Food Show is running January 16-18, 2011 at Moscone Center in San Francisco, California, the West Coast's largest specialty food and beverage event.  

Here, in one place, are the largest selection, latest trends and most innovative products the specialty food industry has to offer. This year’s Winter Show is the largest yet at Moscone Center, with 1,300 exhibitors, 80,000 specialty foods and beverages from the U.S. and beyond, including more than 35 countries, and over 17,000 buyers expected.  

What's New, What's Hot! features three tracks:

What is New – a first look at innovations and potential trends. Some products introduced include:

Bourbon Vanilla SweetSticks (John Wm. Macy's Cheese Sticks)
Baked Lentil Chips (The Mediterranean Snack Food Company LLC)
Beanitos Bean Chips (Bean Brand Foods)
Pumpkin Spice Syrup (Blackberry Patch)
Renfro's Ghost Pepper Salsa (Renfro Foods, Inc.)
Savory Garlic Buffalo Wing (Yancey's Fancy Inc.)
Tortuga Turtles with Sea Salt (Tortuga Rum Cake Company)

California Caviar Company introduces two infused salmon roes, one of which is a BBQ Salmon Roe, which combines “the bold flavors of an outdoor BBQ with the refinement of caviar”.

CookieZen is the first gourmet cookie company to offer the unique Cookies & Corks tasting experience featuring bite-sized gourmet cookies packaged to pair with wine.

Royal Blue Tea Japan presents “CHAEN”, a premium bottled tea beverage, as a new development in tea culture.  “Royal Blue Teas are meant to be paired with gourmet foods, much the same as any fine wine... We...recommend using a wine glass to better admire the color, aroma and flavor of Royal Blue Tea products.”

Experts are detecting trends with:

• Exotic citrus
• Gluten-free foods
• Good-for-you foods
• Grains, nuts and seeds
• Indian flavors
• Nostalgic foods
• Premium vinegars
• Squash, pumpkin and sweet potato

Natural & Organic Foods – both new and new twists on old favorites, some of which are:

Brown Rice Noodles, Gochujang (Annie Chun's Inc.)
GoPicnic ready-to-eat meals (GoPicnic)
Gringo Jack's Loco Local Salsa (Gringo Corp)
Tillen's Natural Maraschinos (Metzger Specialty Brands, Inc.)
Wyoming Fireside Beef Goulash (Frontier Soups)

Gifts & Holiday – presents not only gift ideas, but products specially packaged and prepared for any thoughtful gesture. Included are:

Get Beached Margarita Mixer (Blue Crab Bay Co./Bay Beyond Inc.)
Holiday Gift Sets-Holiday Dips (Robert Rothschild Farm)
New Christmas Soda (Chicago Importing Co.)
Rosemary Parmesan Wafer Crisps (The Kitchen Table Bakers)
Truffle Salt, Truffle Honey (Sabatino USA., Inc.)

Tastings are offered for a diverse menu from cookies and cupcakes to wines, cocktails and “mocktails”.

The 2011 Winter Education Program covers such topics as:

• Tasting Meats & Charcuterie – Bring Home the Bacon!
• Going Organic: Understanding the Steps to Becoming Certified Organic
• How to $urvive a Recall With A Lot of Help From Your Friends

For further information, go to www.specialtyfood.com and select “Winter Fancy Food Show”.

NASFT Winter 2011 Fancy Food Show
January 16-18, 2011

Moscone Center
747 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 974-4000,
(415) 974-4073

Consumer Electronics Show 2011

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Parent Category: Expos and Conventions

Category: Previews

Published on Sunday, 09 January 2011 03:54

Written by Lynne Shannon

The 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is running January 6-9, 2011 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Some events are also being held at the Las Vegas Hilton, the Venetian and the Renaissance Las Vegas hotels.

This is the largest consumer electronics trade show in the world, and this year’s event spares no effort to be even better than ever, on a variety of levels.

For openers, the keynote speakers include such leaders in the field as:

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, who kicks off the show with his keynote address.
Gary Shapiro, CEA President and CEO
Ivan Seidenberg, Verizon CEO

This year’s show marks the debut of a new program, "Entertainment Matters," to address the needs of Hollywood's film, television and digital communities. Sponsored by Variety and Cricket, this program is intended to unite the interests of both technology and content.

Numerous "Conference Tracks" have something for everyone, and indeed more than one thing for all, such as:

Digital Hollywood – the enormously popular track with such sessions as:

• Hollywood and the Digital Consumer: How Technology, Content and Services Establish the Next Level of Consumer Entertainment Experience
• Advertising Strategy, Expenditure and Analysis: Broadcast and Cable vs. the New Platforms
• Venture Funding, Investment & Mergers - Leadership in the Entertainment & Technology Space

Home Entertainment and Lifestyle Technologies – the track that discusses the ever-more tech-savvy consumers as they vote with their dollars:

• In Search of TV's Next Big Thing
• The Great Slate Debate
• It's a TV. It's a Computer. No, It's a...

Media Money Makers – a matter of interest to all, especially at the nexus of Hollywood, Madison Avenue, Wall Street and Silicon Valley:

• Variety Presents: Tech You Can Take to the Bank
• Way Over The Top: Connecting TVs to Revenue
• Artists As Entrepreneurs

Silvers Summit – one of the biggest battle cries of the Boomers back in the 60's was “change”.  The new frontier for Boomers now is aging, and they are revolutionizing that as well, as they absorb tech tools into many aspects of their daily lives. Sessions include:

• What Boomers Buy and Why
• The Power Technology in Senior Health
• Creating the Smart, Aware Home

Smartphone and Tablet Conference – the tomorrow-is-here-today tools that are redefining mobile communications:

• The Smartphone and Tablet Platform: Establishing the Personalized Entertainment and Communications Experience
• The HyperConnected Consumer - Mobile Device and Mobile Network - Integrating the Full PC Experience into a Personal Communications Device
• Video on the Smartphone and Tablet - Programming, Content Relationships, Dealmaking and Commerce

The free "SuperSessions" feature panels:

• Hollywood Creative Masters: A Media Money Makers SuperSession
• Got Game? The State of the Games Industry: View from the Top
• CNET's Next Big Thing: After the Computer
• Big Thinkers and Disruptive Technologies – Today's Thought Leaders, Tomorrow's Technologies
• One-on-One With FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski
• Consumer 360 – Gadgets Everywhere and the Role of Wireless

Again, the show includes "Last Gadget Standing," a competition to see just who demonstrates a product that is "most likely to change the face of technology.”

Celebrity guests include Tim Kring (Heroes), Gale Anne Hurd (Terminator), 50 Cent, Olivia Wilde (Tron), Kevin Pollack and the producers of Lost, and Rick Fox (NBA).

The Exhibit Hall especially is not to be missed, as myriad companies display and demo their newest, cutting edge products.

For more details go to www.cesweb.org.  

2011 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES)
January 6-9, 2011

Las Vegas Convention Center
3150 Paradise Rd
Las Vegas, Nevada
(702) 892-0711

Las Vegas Hilton Hotel
3000 Paradise Road
Las Vegas, Nevada
Toll Free: (888) 732-7117
Main Line (702) 732-5111

Women of Sci-Fi at Sci-Fi Expo

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Parent Category: Expos and Conventions

Category: Previews

Published on Friday, 07 January 2011 19:06

Written by Lynne Shannon

Presented by C2 Ventures, this year’s Sci-Fi Expo is being held January 29 - 30, 2010 in the Plano Convention Centre (2000 E. Spring Creek Parkway) in Plano, Texas -- north of Dallas.

C2 Ventures is a partnership of long-time Star Wars fans Ben Stevens and Philip Wise. Since 2001, C2 Ventures has been the most trusted name in Star Wars autographs, providing more authentic autographs to fans than any other provider worldwide. They presented the massive autograph program at the official STAR WARS Celebration II in 2002, Celebration III in 2005, Celebration IV in 2007, and Celebration Japan in 2008.

C2 Ventures continues to work closely with more than 100 celebrities from the Stars Wars Universe, including Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, Carrie Fisher, Christopher Lee, Anthony Daniels and Samuel L. Jackson, to provide or produce special appearances at conventions and retail stores, authentic autograph signings on your product or our licensed photos, special events, exclusives, and more.

And this year, for only the second time in its history, the special feature is “Women of Sci-Fi.” The actresses will discuss their careers and answer questions from the audience, as well as be on hand for autograph and photo ops.

Some of the stars making an appearance includes:

• Morena Baccarin (Anna in TV’s V; Stargate, Firefly/Serenity)
• Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica, Bionic Woman)
• Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica)
• Alaina Huffman (Stargate Universe)

Besides these contemporary personalities, they’ll be joined by the following veteran sci-fi divas:

• Nichelle Nichols (Uhura, Star Trek TOS)
• Erin Gray (Wilma, Buck Rogers)
• Yvonne Craig (Batgirl, Batman TV)
• Anne Lockhart (Sheba, Battlestar Galactica TOS)

Craig, a Dallas native, rarely appears at conventions these days. But she was happy to make an exception when invited by Ben Stevens because she considers him not only a personal friend but also a really good convention promoter.

Said Craig from her home in California, “I seldom do these shows anymore, but Ben’s shows are always good. The shows are so well organized and he always has a great line-up of guests who are intelligent and fan friendly, and I really enjoy myself when I’m there.”

Also expected is Nick Gillard, stunt coordinator for the original Star Wars movie trilogy. Mr. Gillard also did stunt work for the Alien Queen in Aliens.

Graphic Artists Russell Walks and Lawrence Reynolds also will be displaying their artwork at the event.

In addition, Expo attendees will have the chance to add to their collections of classic toys, t-shirts and other memorabilia in the Exhibitor Hall.

During this winter’s cranky weather, this is a great way to spend a weekend indoors.

For more information, visit www.scifiexpo.com.

Sci-Fi Expo
Jan. 29-30, 2011
Plano Convention Centre
2000 E. Spring Creek Parkway, Plano, Texas
972-941-5840
www.planocentre.com