Curtain Call

Being offered a better booth space is like being upgraded to first class: It doesn't happen all the time, but when it does, almost everyone says yes. So a few years ago when I got a call offering my company at the time a different and seemingly better booth location for a trade show at the Washington State Convention Center, I couldn't refuse.

The show had oversold space, and was cutting booths down by 2 feet on each side to accommodate everyone. But if my company would move to the hallway between the exhibit halls, we could keep our 20-by-30-foot footprint.
When I arrived at the show to supervise installation, however, I discovered the "hallway" was actually a glass-enclosed bridge bathed in sunlight - not a great spot if your exhibit features a classroom-style presentation using a projector.

With nowhere to relocate to in the packed halls, I had the labor crew install our booth on the bridge. Then my colleagues and I devised a plan to protect our presentation.

We rented a heap of 12-foot-tall pipe and drape in dark black, and created a canopy over the entire exhibit. It wasn't pretty, and it cost us $3,000, but at least our presentation wouldn't be derailed. With the show's doors about to open, we were so busy patting each other on the back that we didn't notice the fire marshal striding up. "You need a gap 3 feet wide for every 15 feet of drape so the sprinklers can let water through," she said.

Reluctantly, I reached up with a pole about as long as a broom handle, and pushed the drape apart at the 15-foot mark - right down the center of the booth. That also happened to be where our 32-chair presentation area was, and we all stared glumly at our washed-out screen as the fire marshal sauntered away.

We thought about rearranging the floor plan, but that wouldn't make a difference - the gap let in too much bright light, rendering our 42-inch screen useless regardless of where we put it. We were out of clever ideas, so with the fire marshal out of sight, I nonchalantly reached up with the pole and slid the drape back together.

I figured if the hallway was on fire, the venue probably had bigger problems than the sprinkler above our exhibit. Besides, it would take two seconds to rip down the canopy if need be.

Each evening, we dutifully pushed the drapes back apart, and left them that way until the fire marshal had made her rounds early the following morning. Once she was completely out of sight, the drapes were drawn.

In the end, it was a good show for us businesswise, but our company brass did have a few words with show management about the ordeal. They also asked that we be reimbursed the $3,000 we'd forked out for the pipe and drape, which the organizer agreed to do.

The next year when I was offered an upgrade, I asked a lot more questions and discovered it was truly a better location. It was nice to be asked, and even better to know I wouldn't have to be on drape duty.

- Tom Poalinelli, trade show coordinator, USA Shade and Fabric Structures Inc., Dallas