Southern California's Top 100 Events 2018 - Trade Shows, Conventions & Conferences

#1 Trade Show, Convention & Conference 
Now in its 111th year, the auto show continues to draw a massive crowd to the Los Angeles Convention Center for the 10-day public event. Featuring test drives, celebrity appearances, virtual-reality simulators, and more than 1,000 new vehicles on display, the show kicks off the North American auto show season each year. In 2016, the show’s Press and Trade Days merged with the Connected Car Expo to become AutoMobility L.A., a distinct four-day trade show featuring vehicle debuts that takes place directly before the public event. The 2017 show featured the second iteration of the Garage, a separate area featuring 30 exhibitors across a 160,000-square-foot area. Next: November 30-December 9, 2018

#2 Trade Show, Convention & Conference
Since its inception in 1970, Comic-Con International—commonly known as San Diego Comic-Con—has grown well beyond the world of comic books. The four-day event, which is held every July at the San Diego Convention Center, has become a platform for brands, TV networks, movie studios, and comic publishers to showcase their products through wacky stunts, public fan experiences, and over-the-top parties. With attendance inside the convention center is capped at 130,000 people, brands regularly take to the streets to create fan experiences at local hotels, parks, bars, and parking lots. Next: July 19-22, 2018

#3 Trade Show, Convention & Conference
Formerly known as Electronic Entertainment Expo, the show at the Los Angeles Convention Center now goes simply by the abbreviation E3. Held in June, the 2017 edition drew almost 70,000 people after opening to the public for the first time, selling 15,000 show-floor tickets to fans. Also new was the E3 Coliseum, a two-day series of panels at the Novo at L.A. Live that featured big names such as Jack Black, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and James Gunn. At the main event, the show floor displayed more than 2,000 products from 293 exhibitors. The 2018 edition will add a 7,500-square-foot eSports arena. Next: June 12-14, 2018

#4 Trade Show, Convention & Conference
The National Association of Music Merchants’ annual show is considered one of the biggest and most important events showcasing music products around the world. The 2018 edition in January took advantage of a recent expansion to the Anaheim Convention Center, adding 20 percent more exhibit, educational, and community areas, resulting in an attendance increase of 7.5 percent—to 115,085. Also new this year were hands-on workshops and presentations from the Audio Engineering Society, event technology training from the Entertainment Services and Technology Association, and the Parnelli Awards, which honored Billy Joel’s longtime production manager. Next: January 24-27, 2019

#5 Trade Show, Convention & Conference (up from #8)
The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation produces the expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Overall attendance for the 26th edition rose 15 percent—to 115,726—and the exhibit hall featured 450 booths, which is 14 percent more than the previous show. New additions included the first Pre-Show Night, which drew more than 8,000 people, as well as an expansion to the JW Marriott. The annual event draws anime world premieres, an EDM concert featuring Japanese artists, conversations with video game creators, and more. The 2018 convention will use R.F.I.D. badges for the first time. Next: July 4-8, 2018

#6 Trade Show, Convention & Conference
The 2017 iteration of the invite-only conference, hosted by Code producers Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg, focused on the convergence of tech, media, and politics—specifically on the issues of email-server management and hacking after the 2016 presidential election. The speaker list was a who’s-who of the biggest names in business, including Hillary Clinton, Netflix C.E.O. Reed Hastings, then-Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, and others, while more than 650 C-suite executives attended and 550 companies participated. The event is held annually at the Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes. Next: May 29-31, 2018

#7 Trade Show, Convention & Conference
Billed as the world’s largest natural, organic, and healthy products event, the 38th annual expo experienced its biggest year yet, with 85,000 attendees and 3,521 exhibiting companies including more than 600 first-time exhibitors. Produced by New Hope Network, a division of Informa, the show was held at the newly expanded Anaheim Convention Center in March, while education sessions and social events took place at the nearby Marriott and Hilton hotels, as well as the Grand Plaza and Arena Plaza. Next: March 5-9, 2019

#8 Trade Show, Convention & Conference
The weeklong annual motion-picture business event dates back to 1981, and results in more than $1 billion in deals every year. The 38th edition, held in Santa Monica in November, featured attendance growth of 6 percent, to a total of 7,415 participants and 1,476 buyers from 71 countries. Exhibitor participation increased 18 percent, with 445 registered exhibiting companies. A new addition was the Writer’s Workshop, where professors from U.S.C. and U.C.L.A. taught an audience of 400 people. Next: October 31-November 7, 2018

#9 Trade Show, Convention & Conference (up from #14)
For more than two decades, the think tank has convened some of the top minds from around the world to tackle challenges. It draws about 4,000 international attendees from more than 60 countries, from the fields of business, government, science, philanthropy, academia, arts, and culture; the recent 21st edition drew attendees including politicos Paul Ryan, Chuck Schumer, and Steven Mnuchin. Next: May 2019

#10 Trade Show, Convention & Conference
The event at the Los Angeles Convention Center draws big-name speakers in the travel industry every year, including The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan, Frommer’s Guide editorial director Pauline Frommer, and CBS News travel editor Peter Greenberg in 2018. The 13th edition, held in February, drew 36,813 people, an increase from 2017. Next: February 16-17, 2019

#11 Trade Show, Convention & Conference
Roth Capital Partners hosts the invite-only conference, which recently wrapped its 30th annual event in Laguna Nigel. It is one of the biggest financial services events in the country, with close to 500 participating companies and more than 4,700 attendees for the four-day event. It includes presentations from public and private companies in a variety of sectors, plus heavily produced parties; 2018 saw performances from Pat Benatar and Big & Rich. Next: March 17-20, 2019

#12 Trade Show, Convention & Conference (new to the list)
The online-video convention was recently acquired by Viacom as part of the media conglomerate’s desire to reach the live-events industry; while Vidcon will continue to operate independently, the deal is expected to help the convention expand internationally. The eight-year-old flagship event takes place at the Anaheim Convention Center, with last year’s event drawing 31,000 fans and more than 400 video-content creators. Brands such as YouTube, Facebook, AwesomenessTV, and Snapchat hosted meet-and-greets, panels, and other events and activations throughout the four-day convention. Next: June 20-23, 2018

#13 Trade Show, Convention & Conference
The event is billed as Southern California’s largest boat-sales event, with the chance for fans to see, board, and buy new boats, gear, and accessories. January’s event, which was presented by Lincoln Motor Company, took place at the Pomona Fairplex for its 62nd year and drew more than 250 new boats. Next: January 10-13, 2019

#14 Trade Show, Convention & Conference
Planned by Urban Expositions, the twice-yearly event brings California-made specialty products and unique artisan designs to the Los Angeles Convention Center. Badges also give attendees access to L.A. Gift & Home Market Week, due to a two-year-old partnership with L.A. Mart. The event has changed names multiple times, but was formerly known as Lamkt. Next: July 20-23, 2018

#15 Trade Show, Convention & Conference
Santa Monica-based venture capital firm Upfront Ventures hosts the annual tech conference—a free and invitation-only event. The program brings together hundreds of entrepreneurs and tech investors, plus thought-leaders and influencers, in a lively, high-design format that stands out in the sector. Speakers in 2018 included Dan Rather, Kerry Washington, and Paramount Pictures C.E.O. Jim Gianopulos; sponsors included Silicon Valley Bank, Amazon Web Services, and Facebook. Next: February 2019