A two-day trade show and consumer event called the NOLA Coffee Festival is scheduled to debut next September at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in central New Orleans.
Organizers of the new event have just opened registration for exhibitors, with early-bird reservations ranging from $2,500-$8,500.
Scheduled to take place on Sept. 15-16, 2023, approximately two years after the Specialty Coffee Association held its annual United States Expo in New Orleans, the NOLA Coffee Festival launches with a trade and industry day featuring an expo, morning and afternoon classroom presentations, barista “threauxdowns” and an industry awards program. The second day opens the show to the public, with $10 tickets and $25 VIP tickets.
In an announcement of the new show released today, organizers noted the city’s diverse culinary history, its prominent influence in the Gulf South, and its importance as a port city for green coffee imports.
“Few appreciate the incredible impact that New Orleans has had on the growth of coffee around the country over several generations,” said NOLA Coffee Festival Co-Founder Kevin Richards. “From the coffee brands that call New Orleans home to the coffee innovators who are based here, we felt it was important to establish this festival and reinforce the voice of New Orleans in the growing coffee conversation.”
The festival is the creation of Richards and Jim Currie, a pair of marketing executives with combined experience in the spirits, healthcare and tourism industries.
“Our city is home to thousands of jobs in the coffee industry, and yet there isn’t currently a formal industry trade show here” Currie said in today’s announcement. “Our 40,000-square-foot event changes that fact.”
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