Allegra Events Launching Coffee Festivals in Los Angeles, Milan and Cape Town

Photo from the 2017 New York Coffee Festival. Courtesy of Allegra Events, by
@reverblondon | www.instagram.com/reverblondon

After launching annual consumer-focused festivals in London, Amsterdam and New York, the UK-based lifestyle events company Allegra Events plans to expand its reach with inaugural festivals in Los Angeles, Milan (Italy) and Cape Town (South Africa).

The Los Angeles Coffee Festival will take place Nov. 9-11 at the Magic Box at The Reef convention center and events space in the Historic South-Central neighborhood. Allegra Events says it expects some 10,000 people to attend, including a mix consumers along with industry professionals such as baristas, roasters and retail owners. Of the consumers, Allegra says on its event page, there may be “6,000 sophisticated urbanites who are ever more demanding and open-minded.”

Nearly 12,000 people attended last year’s New York Coffee Festival, according to Allegra, which included a “trade-only” afternoon session in addition to the ticketed public sessions. Allegra Events CEO Jeffrey Young told Daily Coffee News that demand for the sold-out event represented not only thirst for more coffee among New Yorkers, but among consumers worldwide, precipitating the addition of similar events in new markets.

Following the lead of past events, the Los Angeles Festival will include features such as a coffee cocktail bar, an experiential sensory lab, a street food section, a live latte art exhibition, music and art projects, and more. Yet best of all for consumers might just be the opportunity to sample coffees from any number of local roasting companies who are likely to have some of their best stuff on offer.

The inaugural Milan Coffee Festival will take place Nov. 30 to Dec. 2. The dates and locations for the inaugural Cape Town Coffee Festival, happening in 2019, have not yet been announced.