Pomona squeezes 5 trade shows into 1 weekend
Recreational vehicle sales have fallen off a cliff this last year, but that didn’t stop Pomona from going full speed ahead with its fourth annual RV and Travel Show.
Also, a boat show. And a home and garden show, spa and pool show and computer fair. They’re all together at the Pomona Fairplex this weekend, providing tapped-out shoppers with a chance to do some conspicuous consumption on the cheap.
“When you’re at these shows, you see the best deals that companies have to offer,” said Carlos Arriola, a potential RV buyer from Glendora. “This is the right time and right place to buy.”
Carlos, 58, and his wife, Adrian, 56, are hoping to retire within the next few years and had their eyes on a 31-foot RV. Its price had been slashed to $110,000 from $180,000.
The couple didn’t want to make an impulsive buy. So they went to explore the rest of the $10-per-person event, called Summer Fest 2009.
In years past, each event ran separately. But this year, because of the dragging economy, each trade show was threatening to drop out.
It wasn’t until Melissa Tapia, director of sales for Fairplex, thought of combining them that it went forward.
“Pomona is boxing up a year’s worth of trade shows into one weekend,” she said.
Tapia expects the show to pull in about 15,000 to 20,000 visitors.
“Three years ago, I wouldn’t have dared to ask them to bring the shows together,” she said. “Things change.”
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