Ticket sales were red-hot for the 14th annual Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine and Food Festival in February, even despite record-breaking cold temperatures in Miami.

“Although Miami saw record-cool temperatures during the weekend, passionate fans led the way to record-breaking ticket sales for South Beach Wine and Food Festival,” notes Lee Brian Schrager, festival founder and director who also serves as vice president of corporate communications and national events for Southern Wine and Spirits of America. “Between a completely rejuvenated Grand Tasting Village, the debut of Meatopia and our first tiki-inspired cocktail competition it was a great success on many levels.”

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E3 is the world’s premier trade show for computer, video games and mobile games and related products. That’s why, when the doors of the Los Angeles Convention Center open on June 16-18, we here at Rovio will the lining up with the masses hoping to connect with the tens of thousands of the best, brightest and most innovative professionals in the interactive entertainment industry.

Gaming has evolved greatly in recent years. The rise of mobile gaming means that everyone is now a gamer (2.8 billion downloads of our mobile game sensation Angry Birds attests to this) and E3 has emerged as the must attend global event for the entire industry - regardless of what console or device you are creating for.

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From June 8-11 at McCormick Place in Chicago, FMI Connect 2015 will provide food retailers of all kinds, wholesalers, merchandisers, operations people, CIOs and CTOs with a forum for ideas, products, partnerships and professional development. FMI Connect is operated by the Food Marketing Institute, which advocates on behalf of the food retail industry. Its U.S. members operate nearly 40,000 retail food stores and 25,000 pharmacies, representing a combined annual sales volume of almost $770 billion.

With attractions such as FMI Expo and many education sessions, FMI Connect tries to help its attendees maintain relevance so they can get out in front of changing consumer tastes. FMI Connect 2015 will feature products and services in many departments from 700+ exhibitors. It will offer opportunities to connect with industry peers, as 400 retailer companies and 12,500-plus professionals will be in attendance. And it will include more than 40 education sessions with tactics and best practices for improving operations.

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Sponsored by the National Confectioners Association, the 2015 Sweets & Snacks Expo on May 19-21 at Chicago’s McCormick Place is one of 2015’s can’t-miss events. The 2015 expo is anticipated to be the most successful in the event’s 18-year history, with an already sold-out show floor including an extensive exhibitor wait list.

In 2014, the expo set an all-time record in volume of confectionery and snack products with more than 650 companies, increased exhibitor participation for five straight years with more than 3.5 acres of product innovation. In 2015, the show floor square footage expanded to accommodate more new exhibitors and plans to welcome more than 16,000 industry professionals.

“Each year, the show continues to thrive and break standing records while reaching new milestones,” says Tim Quinn, expo chairman and vice president of trade development for Mars Chocolate North America. 

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