Trade shows are ideal opportunities to view a wide variety of products first hand, to network with your peers, to get advice from experts, and to celebrate what you do.

Following is New Age Retailer's list of selected trade shows for 2009. Please note these dates are subject to change; always check the website or call to confirm show information before making plans. If there’s a trade show that should be included on this list, please email the details to us.

February 2009

Louisville Gift Show
Feb. 1-2, Louisville, Ky.
513/861-1139, www.louisvillegiftshow.com
Sixty cash and carry booths, featuring giftware, Kentucky handcrafted products, furniture, clothing, bed and bath, souvenirs, jewelry, gift baskets, candles, and seasonal merchandise.

Market Square Buyers Cash and Carry
Feb. 1-2, Valley Forge, Pa.
717/796-2377, www.marketsquareshows.com
Folk art, museum quality replicas, country collectibles, and handcrafted furniture for immediate delivery. This show also offers shopping carts, loading assistance, on-site UPS shipping, and plenty of free parking.

Spring Fair Birmingham
Feb. 1-5, Birmingham, U.K.
609/921-0222, www.springfair.com
The most successful retail exhibition in the U.K., offers a unique sourcing opportunity for buyers driven by consumer trends to a constant search for new ideas and suppliers across a wide range of products. 73,000 attendees, 4,000 exhibitors.

New York Gift Show
Feb. 3-7, New York City, N.Y.
800/698-5617, www.230fifthave.com
More than 200 showrooms with product categories ranging from gifts to toys to general merchandise.

Tucson Gem Show
Feb. 3-8, Tucson, Ariz.
520/792-9431, www.glda.com
Features gemstones, jewelry, carvings, and pearls. The show has been a mainstay of the Tucson gem shows for 30 years, with a large number of foreign companies and groups exhibiting. 12,000 attendees, 350 exhibits.

American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) GemFair
Feb. 4-9, Tucson, Ariz.
800/972-1162, www.agta.org
U.S.-based colored gemstone sources with an international selection. Gift items and decorative mineral specimens from American artists, designers, and lapidaries. Seminars. 12,000 attendees, 350 exhibits.

Prefair at 888 Brannan
Feb. 4-10, San Francisco
800/346-1212, www.888brannan.com
Formerly known as the Giftcenter & Jewelrymart. More than 300 exhibits in 270 product categories including gift, jewelry, and clothing.

Biloxi Mississippi Gift Show
Feb. 7-9, Biloxi, Miss.
800/951-1994, www.wmigiftshows.com
Includes candles, gourmet coffee, home décor, garden accessories, baby and children’s gifts, jewelry, dolls, and pewter.

San Francisco International Gift Fair
Feb. 7-10, San Francisco
800/272-7469, www.sfigf.com
Features 17 divisions including village arts, gift, collectibles, stationery, fashion accessories, garden, jewelry, home décor, handcrafted and artisan merchandise, pet accessories, and spa products.

Las Vegas Market
Feb. 9-13, Las Vegas
888/416-8600, www.lasvegasmarket.com
Nearly one million square feet of temporary exhibits at the Pavilions and Sands Expo & Convention Center, plus 530 permanent showrooms in two buildings with approximately three million square feet.

Philadelphia Buyers Market of American Craft
Feb. 13-16, Philadelphia, Pa.
800/642-4314, www.americancraft.com
Featuring the work of 1,500 American and Canadian artists. Handcrafted jewelry, fine gifts, home accessories, handbags, art glass, holiday decor, green products, and more. 9,000 attendees, 1,500 exhibitors.

New Orleans Gift & Jewelry Show
Feb. 14-17, New Orleans
630/241-9865, www.gift2jewelry.com
Cash and carry and order writing show. 20,000 attendees, 750 exhibitors.

Alberta Gift Show
Feb. 15-18, Edmonton, Alberta
888/823-7469, www.albertagiftshow.com
Apparel, fashion accessories, bed/bath/linen, body and soul, by hand, child’s play, general gift, gourmet food, garden accessories, holiday/floral, home décor, jewelry, stationery, and more. 19,000 attendees, 800 exhibitors.

Toy Fair
Feb. 15-18, New York
212/675-1141, www.toyfairny.com
Toy Fair is the largest toy trade show in the Western Hemisphere. More than 1,500 manufacturers, distributors, importers and sales agents from 30 countries showcase their toy and entertainment products. Wholesale only, not open to the public. 20,000 attendees.

Western New York Gift Show
Feb. 21-23, Rochester, N.Y.
800/997-4438, www.coralproductions.com
Known for producing fresh, competitive, yet user-friendly events, its regional gift show is the must-attend forum for giftware buyers in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Upstate New York, and Canada.

Columbus MarketPlace Show
Feb. 22-24, Columbus, Ohio
800/686-6278, www.thecolumbusmarketplace.com
Gifts, collectibles, home furnishings, accessories, housewares, stationery, and floral items.

Oklahoma City Gift Show
Feb. 28-March 2, Oklahoma City
800/951-1994, www.wmigiftshows.com
Products include candles, gourmet coffee, home décor, garden accessories, baby and children’s gifts, jewelry, dolls, pewter, floral accessories, antique reproductions, china, crystal, and more.

ACC Craft Show
Feb. 24-26, Baltimore
800/836-3470, www.craftcouncil.org
Trade-only show. Works by America’s leading craftspeople.

Fashion Jewelry & Accessory Show
Feb. 25-March 1, Orlando, Fla.
401/295-4564, www.jewelrytradeshows.com
Manufacturers, importers, and sales representatives in the fashion jewelry, accessory, and gift industries.

Denver Merchandise Mart Gift, Jewelry, & Resort Show
Feb. 26-March 3, Denver
800/289-6278, www.denvermart.com
Gift, resort, collectibles, home furnishings, apparel and accessories for women, men, and children, Western apparel and equipment, souvenirs, gourmet, decorative accessories, and carpeting.

The Great San Francisco Crystal Fair
Feb. 28-March 1, San Francisco
415/383-7837, www.crystalfair.com
Consumer show. Wide variety of gems, minerals, jewelry, and metaphysical and healing tools. 1,800 attendees, 40 exhibitors.