The Chicago Int?l Toy& Game Fair at Navy Pier
Mood:  celebratory
Topic: Toy & Game Fairs
The Chicago Int?l Toy& Game Fair at Navy Pier

September 4, 5 and 6, 2004 ? Consumer Show

The inauguralChicago Int?l Toy & Game Fair was a success! Visit our website at:

CHITAG.com

for pictures fromthe 2003 Fair



We have negotiated an unbeatable deal with Embassy Suitesfor our exhibitors? just 2 blocks from Navy Pier, a 2-room suite with aview of city or lake, a hot breakfast and many more amenities for only$139/night. Visit the website for details.



Below are comments from a few of the exhibitors andattendees to tell you about their experience in 2003. We hope you join us thisyear. Booth space is still available. Applications are available both on thewebsite and via postal mail.



The first annual Chicago Toy and Game Fairwas an outstanding success for Out of the Box Publishing. Our booth was packedwith families from start to finish, and everyone had a great time. There is nodoubt that CHITAG will grow and prosper into the premier family oriented gamingevent in the country. Sign us up for next year! Mark Alan Osterhaus, Out of theBox Publishing



Thanks for doing such a good job puttingtogether the CHITAG show. It turned out great and we really enjoyed it. Weexperienced a steady stream of people trying out and buying games. The Saturdaycrowd was incredible and we could barely keep up. Sales exceeded ourexpectations. Each day was consistently strong, even on the last day when therain kept the traffic much lighter than the previous two. The one comment we heardover and over again from the families attending was... "What a great idea,the kids have had so much fun!" Excellent show Mary, we're already lookingforward to next year's! Frank DiLorenzo, R&R Games



CHITAG was great! The turnoutfor the show exceeded my expectations and I am sure that it will grow next yearand for years to come, and will be a necessity to attend for anyone in the gamebusiness. Dave Yearick, Inventor of Kuduuck and This Vs That and representativeat ToySite/Starbucks's booth



The Chicago Toy and Game Fair on Chicago'sNavy Pier was a huge success. This amazing venue attracted families, tourists,and game fans from all over the country, and exposed our product-line to awhole new audience. We will be attending this show every year! GlennDrover, Eagle Games, Inc.



For a first time event, the show was verywell attended, especially on Sunday when we had a fairly steady stream ofpeople stop by our booth. We were impressed by the local television coverageprovided by all the Chicago stations throughout the holiday weekend. Frank Beres,Patch Products



The Chicago International Toy and Game Fairwas a huge success and totally exceeded our expectations. Countlessfamilies and gamers played our games and told us "I saw you ontelevision this morning playing Brainstrain!" The event's media coveragewas terrific and the attendance was actually more than we couldhandle. Games were being played everywhere with an atmosphere ofexcitement. We predict CHITAG will only get bigger and better eachyear. Next year, we'll have to get a double booth and morestaff! Sign us up. Darlene Calhoun, Chuckle Games - Laughter in abox.



From the perspective of a game designerrepresented by companies at CHITAG, the show was fantastic. It wasvery exciting to see people wander in off the street and learn about newgames. I'm used to playing games with my inner circle of adult gamegeeks. It was satisfying to see families show the same zeal for thegames I love to play. The show reaffirmed my conviction that themarket for new and varied games is potentially huge in thiscountry. We just need to get games in front ofpeople. CHITAG did a great job in this regard. Although it wassmaller, CHITAG had much more energy than the New York Toy Fair. Why? Becauseplaying games is more exciting than talking about games or just looking at theboxes. Darned if there weren't 1000 people all playing games! I haveno doubt that CHITAG 2003 is the tip of a big iceberg. Aaron Weissblum, GameDesigner



We did nearly double the volume weexpected. We will be back next year! Mike Stocchetti, Manager, Go! The GameStore (the retailer for game companies that did not wish to sell retail)



Although these quotes are primarily from the game part ofthe industry (my background), there were toy companies. Next year we hope toinclude more toy companies since so many attendees came in search of the newestand hottest toys. In addition, almost every newscaster asked about what toyswould be hot this fall. There were TV cameras at the Fair every day andcoverage in print media and on every major (and many smaller) TV and radiostations repeatedly.



All agree that the timing to introduce the fourth quarteritems is perfect and the interactive play encourages attendees to purchase.



Thank you to everyone who helped to make the first Fair asuccess. We are excited about 2004 and hope you join us!