page_title: Independent Garden Center Show
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Independent Garden Center Show / History
caption_attribution_description: English: An image of the ICG trade show floor showing booths of different vendors surrounded by attendees.
context_page_description: The Independent Garden Center Show is held every year since 2007 in Chicago, IL, in the United States.
context_section_description: The first IGC Show was held on August 21–23, 2007, at Chicago's Navy Pier.
  In 2014, the show organizers started hosting the IGC Show at a second location for the industry's Eastern market. In 2014, IGC East convened August 5–7 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, MD. In 2015, IGC East relocated to the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, MD. In 2016, the East Coast event relocated to the Valley Forge Casino Resort August 2–4. It featured a new format targeting the special interests of Eastern IGC retailers with regionally focused keynotes, educational conference sessions, and networking opportunities, including Tuesday evening's concert.
  IGC Show 2018 reconvened at Chicago's Navy Pier, August 14–16. In 2019, citing ongoing construction at IGC Show's home for the past 12 years, Navy Pier, the trade show was moved to McCormick Place.
  IGC Show 2019 was hosted in the new home, the Lakeside Center at McCormick Place, of the independent garden center industry buying and educational event, presenting all the networking opportunities and other features of the show in one central area right on the exhibit hall floor.
  It was created by husband-and-wife founders and producers Jeff and Cheryl Morey, who are also co-directors of Garden Centers of America (GCA) and publishers of IGC Magazine. The IGC Show is one of the largest trade shows, conferences and networking events for independent garden center owners, managers and buyers. It is geared toward independents only — no big-box stores are represented or allowed into the event. It is not open to the consumer public.
  The IGC Show presents garden center products available at wholesale from around the world. It is a juried show so every exhibiting company has been screened to ensure the products offered for sale are relevant to independent garden centers.
  In addition to the trade show, the IGC Show hosts an educational conference on topics relevant to garden centers, such as customer service, inventory, signage, social media, store design, advertising, and more. Each day before the trade show opens, a keynote speaker, who is a prominent figure in the garden center industry or an expert in business or a related field, starts the day.
  The IGC Show offers a newly redesigned networking hub, the IGC Networking Lounge, located in the center of the main trade show hall for garden retailers to connect with their peers and charge their portable devices. "Shop Talk" Retail Discussions, located in the IGC Networking Lounge and facilitated by a moderator, give retailers the opportunity to share their thoughts on a range of garden retailing topics, including marketing strategies, minimum wage increases, and getting younger customers shopping.
  The New Vendor Zone presents garden center buyers, managers, and owners with a sampling of companies that are new to the IGC Show and garden center industry. The New Product Zone features new products and plants submitted by vendors all across the show's exhibit space. A special contest was started in 2017 to award the Best New Product and the Best New Plant featured in this zone. Garden center retailers voted for their favorite products and plants, and the first-place and runner-up products and plants received award ribbons.
  In 2017, the first place Best New Product award went to Kreative Gardens of Miami, FL; the second place Best New Product award went to Potwheelz Garden Dolly of Gulf Breeze, FL. In 2017, the first place Best New Plant award went to Regal Petticoat Maple from Sester Farms in Gresham, OR; the second place Best New Plant award went to 'Gold Breeze' Zebra Grass from Hortech in Spring Lake, MI.
  In 2018, the contest was held again, awarding the first place Best New Product honor to TrashCan of Portsmouth, NH; the second place Best New Product award went to Grass Flip Flops of Westlake Village, CA. Also in 2018, the first place Best New Plant award went to Hollywood Hibiscus from J Berry Nursery of Grand Saline, TX; the second place Best New Plant award went to Endless Summer Hydrangeas Summer Crush from 
caption: IGC Show is the world's biggest buying and education event for independent garden centers.
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