Marketplace Events Acquires Pacific Northwest Consumer Shows
June 6, 2018
Marketplace Events has purchased two shows from O’Loughlin Trade Shows, the largest producer of consumer shows in the Pacific Northwest.
Marketplace Events now will operate both the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival, held each February at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle and the Tacoma Home & Garden Show, held in January at the Tacoma Dome.
“From both a personal and professional standpoint, this is a meaningful deal,” said Tom Baugh, CEO of Marketplace Events, which is known as the largest producer of business-to-consumer home shows in North America.
He continued, “The O’Loughlin and Baugh families have been friends and colleagues for almost 50 years. Marketplace Events is excited to become stewards of these events and we are extremely enthusiastic about expanding our footprint into the Northwest U.S. market.”
As a 30-year-old show that has operated in the market since 1989, the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival has long been regarded as the preeminent garden show in the Northwest that features more than 20 spectacular show gardens each year.
The show’s current staff will join Marketplace Events and continue running the event, according to Marketplace officials.
The Tacoma Home & Garden Show, which is set to run Jan. 24-27, will be operated out of Marketplace Events’ Vancouver office under the direction of veteran Show Manager Tyson Kidd and Assistant Show Manager Stephanie Gatzionis.
Presented by Western Washington Toyota Dealers, the Tacoma show us Washington’s largest combined home and garden event.
Meanwhile, O’Loughlin Trade Shows will continue producing Boat, RV, Food and Sportsmen’s Shows.
This is the third show acquisition of the year for Marketplace Events, with the company having acquired or launched 25 shows since being purchased by Sentinel Capital Partners in February 2016.
The company produces 41 consumer home shows in the U.S., 16 in Canada and nine holiday shows. The 66 combined events in 31 markets attract 20,000 exhibitors, 1.8 million attendees and another 3 million unique web visitors annually.
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