Hi all – we’re excited to announce our applications for our Exhibit Hall will be opening on 12/1 at 7PM EST!
I wanted to highlight a few changes from last year, that you’ll probably notice as you review our Exhibitor Packet! We continue to refine our Exhibitor policies, especially around our application system, and we want to be as transparent as possible when there are changes!
- Artists are limited to ONE TABLE now, instead of TWO: while this might be limiting for some artists who have larger setups, we really want to get the widest variety possible in our Artist Alley. Most Artists who were purchasing two tables last year were doing so with the intent to resell or share the other space, and this isn’t fair to our applicants or our waitlist. In previous years this was not an issue, but we noticed a MASSIVE uptick in table sharing and transfers after double-table purchases last year, so we have had to change the policy.
- NO TABLE SHARING ALLOWED WITHOUT A SHARED APPLICATION: if you are planning to share artist or vendor space with another company/artist/etc, you MUST apply together on a single application. We will no longer allow the addition of table sharing after the application period has closed and approvals are being issued. This was also abused in the double-table purchases last year, and we ultimately want the opportunity to judge applications that represent as closely as possible what the set-up and contents of a booth or table will be.
- No resale/transfer of tables or booths: in the interest of fairness to our waitlist and application process, and to try and ensure the highest level of quality, artists and vendors will no longer be allowed to sell or transfer their table/booth of their own volition. To help alleviate the burden this may place on exhibitors who are genuinely unable to attend, we have extended the refund windows for both 100% refunds and 50% refunds (deadlines in the packet). While restricting the resale/transfer to previously wait-listed artists was a good step, it did not give the measure of fairness we are seeking to apply to all applications, which includes progressing through the wait list in the designated order.
- We’ve expanded our Artist Alley area to accommodate more artists! Did you know: when asked to score certain parts of the convention as “most important” on our recent attendee survey, Artist Alley consistently scored as one of the highest attractions! Well we heard what the fans said, and we’ve adjusted our floorplan slightly to try and accommodate as many phenomenal artists as possible!
Some quick reminders on things that HAVEN’T changed, but that we always get questions on!:
- We’ll begin scoring applications based on the process outlined in the packet as soon as we start receiving them, but we will not issue ANY APPROVALS until 2/1/2026. Every single application will get reviewed.
- Due to the volume of applications, we cannot provide scoring rubrics, individual scores, etc. to applicants.
- After the room is sold out, we will shift a fixed number of exhibitor applications to the wait list – we will then deny the rest. “Denied” status does NOT NECESSARILY mean that you did something wrong or wouldn’t be “allowed” back into the room, it simply means that based on score, category, etc. you were below the threshold to transfer to the waitlist (having 800+ exhibitors on a waitlist, when we historically have <15 cancellations during the entire year, just isn’t realistic or fair to the exhibitors who need to try and plan their summer show schedule).
- Please keep an eye on your email and application throughout the process. If your application is placed “On Hold” or you receive an email from us requesting additional info, your application cannot proceed in the scoring process until we receive a response.
You can take a look at the pricing, find the application link, and review the Exhibitor Packet by clicking here! If you have any additional questions, feel free to reach out to us anytime at exhibits@metroconventions.com and we’ll be happy to help! Thanks everyone, and see you next summer!
Alex Craddock, CEO/Owner
