EXCITING SLATE OF SEMINARS & EVENTS HIGHLIGHT JANUARY 2007 NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL GIFT FAIR

WHITE PLAINS, NY - A comprehensive series of educational sessions and exciting special events will be among highlights of the 152nd semi-annual New York International Gift Fair® (NYIGF™), Sunday, January 28, through Thursday, February 1, 2007, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and Passenger Ship Terminal Piers 92 and 94. In addition to Fair-sponsored activities, a gift and home industry fundraiser and a housewares design award luncheon will be presented as part of the winter 2007 New York Gift and Home Market Week.

According to Dorothy Belshaw, Show Director and GLM senior vice president, “Our special events this January will enable Gift Fair participants to really take a bite out of the Big Apple, whether by taking in a Broadway show or ice skating at Rock Center. And, our educational line-up addresses issues of central importance to retailers needs, adding real value to each attendee’s tradeshow experience.”

Special Events
Gift For Life’s 15th Anniversary Gala – the gift and home industry’s “event of the year” – will be held in conjunction with the New York International Gift Fair for the first time in 2007. The event, which will be held Sunday, January 28, from 6:00pm to 10:00pm, at Strata, 915 Broadway at 21st Street, will include a buffet dinner, cocktails, awards presentation, live music, and live and silent auctions. 2007 honorees are: Peer Baekgaard of Baekgaard, Ltd. (Chuck Yancy Lifetime Achievement Award), Rick Ruffner of Avanti Press and Jeff Sampson of LA Mart (Bert Tonkin Gift of Giving Awards). Tickets, and sponsorships, start at $125 per person. For information, contact Erica Topple at 212-806-1636 or Erica.topple@amfAR.org.

The Rink at Rockefeller Center is New York City’s ultimate destination for winter fun! Unwind on the ice after a busy day at the Fair, and warm-up with some hot cocoa and cookies rink side, at the Gift Fair’s popular On the Town event, Monday, January 29, from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. Tickets cost $20 per person and are available online at www.nyigf.com.

Design will be celebrated on Tuesday, January 30, at the 4th Annual Housewares Design Awards luncheon, running from 11:30am to 2:30pm, at the Marriott Marquis. Presented by HomeWorld Business magazine with the educational support of the International Housewares Association and sponsorship by George Little Management, LLC (GLM), the 4th annual Housewares Design Awards recognize excellence in 13 categories. Tickets, which cost $75 each, are available through Judy Colitz at 847-692-0126, or jcolitz@housewares.org.

George Little Management will treat Gift Fair participants to “A Night on Broadway featuring The Drowsy Chaperone,” on Tuesday, January 30, starting at 8:00pm, at the Marquis Theatre, 1535 Broadway at 46th Street. The Drowsy Chaperone begins when a die-hard musical-theatre fan plays his favorite cast album, and the musical magically bursts to life! This Tony Award winning tale of a glamorous bride and her uproarious wedding day is complete with thrills and surprises that take both the cast (literally) and the audience (metaphorically) soaring into the heavens. Tickets, normally priced at $111.25 each, are being offered through www.nyigf.com at the reduced rate of $80, with the difference subsidized by GLM.

Educational Seminars
Two pre-show educational sessions – one for new buyers and one for museum retailers – will help attendees prepare for the Fair, while six onsite seminars will help add vale to the show experience. Topics include trends, visual merchandising, Christmas sales, retail excellence, cross-merchandising and design.

GLM and Giftware News will jointly produce a pre-show New Buyer Orientation Webinar, to be held on Tuesday, January 16, at 3:00pm (EST), for newcomers to the Fair. Editor-in-chief, John Saxtan will help retailers prepare for the Fair by “dialing in and logging on” to learn how to shop the show efficiently and effectively, place orders and follow-up with exhibitors!

Museums & More magazine will host a half-day, pre-show conference – tailored to museum-minded business people – on Saturday, January 27, from 2pm – 6pm, in New York City. The Museum Buyers Exchange includes an Outlook on Trends, Maximizing Visual Displays and Retail Roundtable sessions discussing pressing business issues and concludes with a networking cocktail reception. For tickets and information, call (616) 887-9008.

On Sunday, January 29, display expert Greg Gorman of GMG Design, Inc., will share store design tips and merchandising techniques with retailers; And, HFN editors will offer insights into achieving retail success across gift and home categories including gift, tabletop, housewares and textiles.

On Monday, January 30, a trend expert will preview product, color and design trends that will be top-sellers in gift and home for 2007 and beyond; And, HomeWorld Business executive editor, Bill McLoughlin, will explore marketing and integration of design into brand strategy and product positioning – from concept to consumer.

On Tuesday, January 31, Selling Christmas Decorations editor, Mary Ford, and a panel of savvy retailers will outline ideas for year-round success with seasonal merchandise; And Gifts & Decorative Accessories editor in chief, Maria Weiskott, will present a retrospective of the magazine’s Retail Excellence Award winners as a preview of the 56th annual awards event to be held in August 2007.

Additional sessions – addressing retail opportunities in the luxury market, home textile market trends and personal care merchandising – also will be presented at GLM’s EX•TRACTS®: New discoveries in beauty and wellness and New York Home Textiles Show®, which run concurrently with the Gift Fair, Sunday, January 28, through Wednesday, January 31, at New York City’s Metropolitan Pavilion.

All seminars and events require advance registration. Complete programs details, schedule information and registration is available online at www.nyigf.com.

The New York International Gift Fair is produced and managed by George Little Management, LLC. Featuring 2,600 exhibitors in nearly 600,000 net square feet of exhibit space, the Gift Fair includes Accent on Design®, At Home, Floral & Garden Accessories featuring Outdoor Living™, General Gift featuring Just Kidstuff® and Museum Source®, Handmade®, New & Distinctive Resources, New York’s Newest, Personal Accessories featuring Details and Tabletop & Housewares. Some 43,000 attendees are expected to participate.

For exhibitor information, contact Allison Rober, administrative manager, at (914) 421-3271, or allison_rober@glmshows.com. For attendee information, contact GLM’s Customer Service Department at 1-800-272-SHOW (7469), or (603) 665-7524, or visit www.nyigf.com. For travel and hotel assistance, contact Travel Planners, Inc., a 1-800-221-3531, or (212) 532-1660, or webres@tphousing.com.
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NEW YORK GIFT & HOME MARKET DATES AND HOURS

Sunday, January 28 – Wednesday, January 31
9:00am - 6:00pm
Javits Center: Accent on Design®, At Home, General Gift featuring Just Kidstuff® and Museum Source®, Tabletop & Housewares, Personal Accessories featuring Details
Pier 92: New & Distinctive Resources, New York’s Newest, Floral & Garden Accessories featuring Outdoor Living™
Pier 94: At Home
Metropolitan Pavilion: EX•TRACTS®: New discoveries in beauty and wellness and the New York Home Textiles Show®

Thursday, February 1
9:00am - 12:00 noon
Javits Center: Accent on Design®, At Home, General Gift featuring Just Kidstuff® and Museum Source®, Tabletop & Housewares, Personal Accessories featuring Details
Pier 92: New & Distinctive Resources, New York’s Newest, Floral & Garden Accessories featuring Outdoor Living™
Pier 94: At Home

New York International Gift Fair
www.nyigf.com