US: Farwest 2015 sees a 10 percent jump in attendance

The 2015 Farwest Show promised members of the nursery industry a “Far From Ordinary” trade show experience — and it delivered. More than 6,000 industry professionals turned out for the three-day expo, which was a 10 percent jump over 2014, and over 40 new exhibitors also took part.

Farwest was held Thursday–Saturday, August 27–29, 2015 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland. The show, founded in 1973, is produced by the Oregon Association of Nurseries (OAN), which represents Oregon’s $830 million nursery industry.

“The industry wanted an enhanced trade show experience, so we made that our goal,” OAN Executive Director Jeff Stone said. “To market the show, we launched the Far From Ordinary campaign, featuring the unmistakable, hort-headed Farwest Fanatics. We know it connected because advance registrations were way up. The people attending told us they enjoyed the new look, but more importantly, they liked what was under the hood. The show now has strong forward momentum, and we hope to continue that momentum in 2016.”