Marketplace Events Adds Christmas Shows in Tacoma and Omaha
CLEVELAND, Ohio – August 1, 2023 – Marketplace Events has acquired the Tacoma Holiday Food & Gift Festival to be held October 26-29, 2023 at the Tacoma Dome, from Showcase Events Inc., it was announced today by Tom Baugh, CEO of Marketplace Events and Rick Matthews, President of Showcase Events Inc.
This will be the second annual event in Tacoma for the company, which also operates the Tacoma Home + Garden Show held annually in January at same facility. The show will be managed by Veteran Show Manager Jeff Swenson and his team, who run the Northwest Flower + Garden Festival in Seattle in addition to the Tacoma shows.
Baugh also announced that the company will launch a new holiday show November 8-10, 2024 at the CHI Health Convention Center in Omaha, NE. The Omaha Holiday Boutique will be run by another veteran MPE Show Manager Marc Gary who also runs holiday shows in Kansas City, Des Moines and Atlanta.
“We are always looking to add holiday shows to our portfolio especially in markets where we already operate successful events,” said Baugh. “Omaha is an excellent example of our seasoned managers recognizing exhibitor interest and seizing an opportunity to expand into an entirely new market,” he continued. “In Tacoma, the deal followed on our 2022 purchase of the Denver Holiday Show from Showcase Events. When Rick was ready to do this deal, things moved very quickly.”
“As with our Denver show, we know our Tacoma show will be in good hands with Marketplace Events,” said Matthews. Showcase Events will continue to operate their holiday events in Colorado Springs and Salt Lake City.
In addition to Tacoma and Omaha, MPE operates 11 holiday shows in nine other cities in the US including Atlanta, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Des Moines, Harrisburg, Indianapolis and Kansas City.
This will be the second annual event in Tacoma for the company, which also operates the Tacoma Home + Garden Show held annually in January at same facility. The show will be managed by Veteran Show Manager Jeff Swenson and his team, who run the Northwest Flower + Garden Festival in Seattle in addition to the Tacoma shows.
Baugh also announced that the company will launch a new holiday show November 8-10, 2024 at the CHI Health Convention Center in Omaha, NE. The Omaha Holiday Boutique will be run by another veteran MPE Show Manager Marc Gary who also runs holiday shows in Kansas City, Des Moines and Atlanta.
“We are always looking to add holiday shows to our portfolio especially in markets where we already operate successful events,” said Baugh. “Omaha is an excellent example of our seasoned managers recognizing exhibitor interest and seizing an opportunity to expand into an entirely new market,” he continued. “In Tacoma, the deal followed on our 2022 purchase of the Denver Holiday Show from Showcase Events. When Rick was ready to do this deal, things moved very quickly.”
“As with our Denver show, we know our Tacoma show will be in good hands with Marketplace Events,” said Matthews. Showcase Events will continue to operate their holiday events in Colorado Springs and Salt Lake City.
In addition to Tacoma and Omaha, MPE operates 11 holiday shows in nine other cities in the US including Atlanta, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Des Moines, Harrisburg, Indianapolis and Kansas City.