TRADE SHOW
CALA Prepares for Last Show at the Westin SF Before Moving to New Open-Booth Venue
CALA San Francisco is headed to a new home in March.
The contemporary trade show will hold its last event at the Westin St. Francis hotel in San Francisco’s Union Square, CALA’s home for the last eight years, Feb. 2–3. The show’s March 10–11 run will be held at the Fort Mason Center, an open-plan venue in the city’s Marina District with views of the San Francisco Bay, including the iconic Golden Gate Bridge and the city’s famous Alcatraz Island. The move will allow CALA to switch its format from a hotel-room show to an open-booth show.
“Everybody wants to go to San Francisco,” CALA organizer Gerry Murtagh said. “We wanted to have an open-booth format. It’s easier for the buyers to navigate and shop the show.”
At the last CALA show in November, Murtagh said, representatives from 130 showrooms from Los Angeles and New York exhibited at the Westin St. Francis.
“We were bursting at the seams,” he said. “We got a great opportunity with the Fort Mason Center and we have room to grow. It’s just a great situation.”
Plans for the new venue include breakfast and lunch provided by San Francisco restaurants and a happy hour each afternoon. There will be hotel discounts available through the CALA website (http://calashows.com), and show organizers will provide complimentary shuttle service to the hotels as well as valet parking and a special Uber offer.
