The International Boston Seafood Show and Seafood Processing America kicks off on Sunday, and exhibitors and visitors alike are gearing up for what’s shaping up to be a memorable occasion. The three-day event takes place at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC).
There are 869 companies exhibiting at this year’s show, 51 more than in 2009. Among the countries newly represented at this year’s show are Sri Lanka, the Faeroe Islands, Singapore, Estonia, the Falkland Islands and New Zealand.
Show highlights include:
• Kevin Cottle, executive chef of the Country Club of Farmington, will give the free keynote address on Monday at 12:30 p.m. He will talk about raising awareness of sourcing local and sustainable seafood. Cottle will also shed light on the vast resources available to ensure the sustainability of your seafood purchases — whether you’re a chef, retailer or consumer.
• Winners of the annual Seafood Excellence Awards will be unveiled in the Culinary Demonstration Theater on Sunday at 3:30 p.m., as awards will be presented to the best new retail and foodservice products.
• William “Chopper” Young will defend his title as the fastest shucker in the East for the fourth consecutive year. The fourth annual Oyster Shucking Contest takes place in the Culinary Demonstration Theater on Monday at 3:30 p.m.
• The Seafood Marketplace returns this year. It’s a fully operational retail seafood market on the show floor designed to help attendees find new ways to drive retail seafood sales.
• New to this year’s show is a Twitter Wall in the registration area. Attendees can view tweets from @BostonSeafood, @SeafoodSource, @SeaFoodBusiness and anyone including the hashtag #IBSS10 in their tweets, live from the show. In addition, the first-ever International Boston Seafood Show Tweetup will take place at City Bar in the Westin Waterfront Hotel, next door to the BCEC, on Monday at 5:30 p.m. It’s a casual networking and socializing event open to all visitors and exhibitors.
• Visitors and exhibitors can also download the free International Boston Seafood Show and Seafood Processing America applications to their iPhones. Search the App Store for “Boston Seafood.” The app allows access to the interactive floor map, exhibitor list and the conference schedule.
• Speaking of the conference program, this year’s show is once again chock full of seminars to help you bolster your seafood knowledge. Don’t miss the SeaFood Business Summit: Consumer Insights on Sustainable Seafood on Sunday at 11 a.m., or the Shrimp Forum or Tuna Forum, both on Sunday at 2 p.m. Too busy on Sunday? Monday and Tuesday are also loaded with seminars, including How the Economy is Changing Consumer Seafood Purchases on Monday at 1 p.m. and Teach a Chef to Fish on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. Click here to check out the full conference schedule. It’s not too late to sign up.
• The SeafoodSource and SeaFood Business editorial teams will be scouring the show floor and conference rooms for news. Got a story idea? If so, e-mail us at [email protected], and we’ll do our best to follow up with you during the show.
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