Welcome to our April edition of Conventional Wisdom, the newsletter of the Paducah McCracken County Convention and Expo Center.

We hope this publication will give you an idea of what is happening down by the river, as well as updates on events and other news. We will bring you inside for some great photos, and let you know how to get in touch with us to book your next meeting, banquet, reception or event.

We hope you enjoy it.

Meet The Big Daddy of Them All

Each month, Conventional Wisdom features a room in our facility and gives you some ideas of what can be held there and how many people we can accommodate. This month, we feature the Convention Center’s River Ballroom. The River Ballroom, which can be broken up into four sections, is the largest of all the Convention Center meeting rooms. Coming in at a total of 18,000 square feet, the Ballroom can seat up to 1,500 for an elegant dinner or 1,200 people at classroom tables for seminars or training sessions. If you just need a place to sit, nearly 2,000 chairs can fill the Ohio, Tennessee, Mississippi and Cumberland Rooms. Each of the four sections of the River Ballroom has two built in projection screens and an infinite number of lighting levels. The new carpet, wall treatments and light fixtures make the Ballroom the perfect place for wedding receptions or dinners. If you are interested in booking your next event contact J. Patrick Kerr at 270.408.1346 or visit our website at www.PaducahConventions.com.

The 2010 American Quilters Society Show and Contest wrapped up last week for the 26th year here in Paducah. The Paducah McCracken County Convention and Expo Center was happy to play host again this year. And, the centers will host the show through 2014 with the recent signing of a long-term contract with AQS.

The newest edition to this year’s show was the AirDome Pavilion. The new 40,000 square foot exhibit space was purchased by the City of Paducah to make up for the space lost after the adjacent Executive Inn was shuttered.

The AirDome Pavilion housed several quilt exhibits as well as vendors. By all accounts from the vendors “The Marshmallow,” as the Pavilion came to be known, was great. The open space and bright light really allowed vendors’ products to be displayed properly and very likely helped sales. Many vendors said sales at this year’s show were actually higher than in previous years.

When asked, why “The Marshmallow?” one vendor, without pause, responded, “It is just so sweet!”

When you book an event at the Convention Center or Expo Center, you may not realize that you are renting not just the meeting space but also, the facility as a whole. For example, during the American Quilters Society Show and Contest, AQS took advantage of the parking lots and set up a food court for attendees complete with tents and seating areas.

A portion of the parking lots also were used as a staging area for tour buses, as well as pick up and drop off points for attendees.

Not many events held at the Convention and Expo Centers are the size of the AQS Quilt Show, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t utilize our spaces in unique ways.

Maybe you want to hold an outdoor flea market or set up additional vendors for your trade show under the entrance awnings to the buildings? Just know that when you book space, in most cases, the whole place is yours for the duration of your event.

For more information or to book the Expo, just visit
our website at www.PaducahConventions.com.