Cheat sheet · updated 2026-10-19
Trade Show Seasonality by Industry 2026–27
When does each industry's trade show season actually happen? This sheet counts 1028 shows with organizer-verified dates across November 2026 – October 2027 and lays them out by month. Use it to pick the quarter to exhibit in, avoid pile-up weeks, and book travel before the peak.
The year at a glance
Shows starting in each month. March 2027 (139) and February 2027 (130) are the peaks; December 2026 (35) and July 2027 (39) are the quiet months among those already well published — the last months of the window fill in as organizers announce dates.
| Month | Shows |
|---|---|
| November 2026 | 113 |
| December 2026 | 35 |
| January 2027 | 124 |
| February 2027 | 130 |
| March 2027 | 139 |
| April 2027 | 116 |
| May 2027 | 85 |
| June 2027 | 84 |
| July 2027 | 39 |
| August 2027 | 38 |
| September 2027 | 75 |
| October 2027 | 50 |
Industry × month heatmap
Industries with at least 12 verified shows in the window, most active first. Darker = more shows starting that month; the number is in every cell. Click an industry for its full schedule.
| Industry | Nov ’26 | Dec ’26 | Jan ’27 | Feb ’27 | Mar ’27 | Apr ’27 | May ’27 | Jun ’27 | Jul ’27 | Aug ’27 | Sep ’27 | Oct ’27 | Total | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail & Consumer Goods | 14 | 5 | 20 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 98 | Jan ’27 |
| Manufacturing & Industrial | 14 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 9 | 85 | Nov ’26 |
| Outdoor Recreation | 2 | 3 | 18 | 28 | 13 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 76 | Feb ’27 |
| Building & Construction | 7 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 73 | Mar ’27 |
| Food & Beverage | 5 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 54 | Mar ’27 |
| Toys & Gifts | 12 | 1 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 50 | Nov ’26 |
| Energy & Environment | 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 43 | Apr ’27 |
| Cybersecurity | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 42 | Jun ’27 |
| Construction | 3 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 42 | Mar ’27 |
| Agriculture & Farming | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 38 | Feb ’27 |
| Agriculture & Cannabis | 1 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 38 | Feb ’27 |
| Boating & Marine | 2 | 1 | 10 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 37 | Feb ’27 |
| Fashion & Apparel | 1 | 1 | 11 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 37 | Jan ’27 |
| Healthcare & Life Sciences | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 36 | Mar ’27 |
| RV & Camping | 3 | 0 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 35 | Feb ’27 |
| Technology & Electronics | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 33 | Mar ’27 |
| Marketing, Media & Publishing | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 32 | Nov ’26 |
| Travel, Hospitality & Outdoor | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 32 | Nov ’26 |
| Real Estate | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 31 | May ’27 |
| Supply Chain & Logistics | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 30 | May ’27 |
| Automotive & Mobility | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 28 | Mar ’27 |
| Gaming | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 28 | Mar ’27 |
| Tourism & Travel | 9 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 27 | Nov ’26 |
| Enterprise IT | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 27 | Jun ’27 |
| Pharmaceutical | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 24 | Mar ’27 |
| Beauty & Cosmetics | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 24 | Mar ’27 |
| Beverage | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 22 | Mar ’27 |
| Sports, Fitness & Recreation | 3 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 22 | Jan ’27 |
| Fitness | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 22 | Feb ’27 |
| Aerospace | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 22 | Apr ’27 |
Outlined cell = that industry's peak month. A show tagged with two industries counts in both rows.
Who peaks when
Busiest weeks
- Week of Mar 15–Mar 21, 202748
- Week of Mar 1–Mar 7, 202743
- Week of Feb 1–Feb 7, 202741
- Week of Nov 9–Nov 15, 202639
- Week of Nov 2–Nov 8, 202636
- Week of Jan 25–Jan 31, 202735
Weeks start Monday. Expect hotel and flight pressure in host cities these weeks.
Where the shows are
- Las Vegas108
- New York45
- Orlando36
- Chicago32
- Atlanta23
- Boston20
- San Diego20
- Anaheim18
- San Francisco17
- Miami Beach17
30 countries in the window. Las Vegas by month: Nov 12 · Dec 4 · Jan 11 · Feb 14 · Mar 14 · Apr 11 · May 10 · Jun 6 · Jul 6 · Aug 5 · Sep 11 · Oct 4.
Shape of a show
Length (days, incl. first and last): 1-day 46 · 2-day 168 · 3-day 437 · 4-day 251 · 5-day 76 · 6-day 19 · 7-day 11.
Opening day: Mon 184 · Tue 252 · Wed 180 · Thu 112 · Fri 123 · Sat 69 · Sun 108.
Plan travel for a Monday or Tuesday open and a 3–4 day run unless the show page says otherwise.
How to use this
- Exhibitors: your industry's peak month is where your buyers already travel — but it's also where booth space, housing and attention are scarcest. The second-peak month is often the better value. Open the industry's hub from the heatmap for the actual shows, then run the ROI calculator on the shortlist.
- Attendees: stack visits inside a peak month and city (Las Vegas in February 2027 is the obvious one) to cover several shows per trip; avoid the busiest weeks if you're booking late.
- Organizers and marketers: the quiet months are where a new event meets the least calendar competition.
Method
Counts are organizer-verified shows in the ConventionGrid catalog starting in each calendar month of November 2026 – October 2027, recomputed every time the site builds. A show tagged with more than one industry is counted in each. This is our verified calendar, not a census of every event in the world — as organizers publish dates for the far end of the window the later months fill in. Month pages: Nov ’26 · Dec ’26 · Jan ’27 · Feb ’27 · Mar ’27 · Apr ’27 · May ’27 · Jun ’27 · Jul ’27 · Aug ’27 · Sep ’27 · Oct ’27.
Cite freely with a link (CC BY 4.0). Related: Trade Show Planning Hub · the calendar · Show Countdown Planner · venues.