The Independent Garden Center Show (IGC Show) is held every year since 2007 in

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, in the United States.

History

The IGC Show was created by Jeff and Cheryl Morey, co-directors of

Garden Centers of America Garden Centers of America (GCA) was incorporated in March 1973 as a nonprofit organization of independent garden centers across North America for the purpose of improving conditions in the retail garden center industry. GCA provides a medium throug ...

(GCA) and publishers of ''IGC Magazine''. The first IGC Show was held in 2007, at Chicago's Navy Pier. In 2014, IGC East convened at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, MD. In 2015, IGC East relocated to the Baltimore Convention Center in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

, MD. In 2016, the East Coast event relocated to the Valley Forge Casino Resort. IGC Show 2018 reconvened at Chicago's Navy Pier. In 2019, citing ongoing construction at the Navy Pier, the show was moved to McCormick Place. IGC Show 2019 was hosted in the Lakeside Center at McCormick Place.

Description

The IGC Show is one of the largest shows for independent garden center owners, managers and buyers. The show is not open to large retail chain competitors or the general public. The IGC Show presents garden center products available at wholesale. 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. Conference classroom

In addition to the trade show, the IGC Show hosts an educational conference on topics relevant to garden centers, such as customer service,

inventory Inventory (American English) or stock (British English) refers to the goods and materials that a business holds for the ultimate goal of resale, production or utilisation. Inventory management is a discipline primarily about specifying the shap ...

, signage, social media, store design, advertising, and more. Each day before the trade show opens, a keynote speaker starts the day. The IGC Show provides a networking area. "Shop Talk" Retail Discussions, facilitated by a moderator, provide discussion on topics including marketing strategies,

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...

increases, and younger customers . IGC2017 ShopTalkGroup

IGC show provides a special area of vendor exhibits for 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. The 2019 show unveiled the IGC Retail Lab, a retail symposium and interactive design forum. It is designed to help IGC owners turn their stores into gathering spaces that capitalize on the most popular consumer trends.

Contest

In 2017, the Best New Product and the Best New Plant awards contest was started. Garden center retailers voted for their favorite new products and plants.

Best new product

* 2017 - first place Kreative Gardens of Miami, FL; second place went to Potwheelz Garden Dolly of Gulf Breeze, FL. * 2018 - first place TrashCan of Portsmouth, NH; the second place to Grass Flip Flops of Westlake Village, CA. * 2019 - first-place Complete Grow Kits from A Pot for Pot of Oakland, CA; second place Fir Needle Products from Bedrock Tree Farm of

Wakefield, RI Wakefield-Peacedale (listed as "Wakefield-Peace Dale" by the United States Census Bureau) is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of South Kingstown in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States that includes the villages of Peace Dale ...

Best new plant

* 2017 - first place Regal Petticoat Maple from Sester Farms in

Gresham, OR Gresham ( ) is a city located in Multnomah County, Oregon, in the United States of America, immediately east of Portland, Oregon. It is considered a suburb within the Greater Portland Metropolitan area. Though it began as a settlement in the mid ...

; the second place 'Gold Breeze' Zebra Grass from Hortech in Spring Lake, MI. * 2018 - the first place Hollywood Hibiscus from J Berry Nursery of Grand Saline, TX; the second place Endless Summer Hydrangeas Summer Crush from Bailey Nurseries of

St. Paul, MN Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...

. * 2019 - first-place Best New Plant plant arrangement of Yellow Star, Large Capitata Maroon and Tropiflora from Russell's Bromeliads of

Clermont, FL Clermont is a city in Lake County, Florida, Lake County in central Florida, United States, about west of Orlando, Florida, Orlando and southeast of Leesburg, Florida, Leesburg. The population was 43,021 in 2020. The city is residential in charac ...

; the second-place First Editions Iceberg Alley Sageleaf Willow from Bailey of St. Paul, MN. IGC Show trade show floor Aug 2016

Previous shows

* 2019 to 2020: McCormick Place *2017 to 2018: - Navy Pier * 2016 -, Valley Forge Casino Resort; Navy Pier * 2015 - Baltimore Convention Center;, Navy Pier * 2014 - Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center;, Navy Pier * 2007 to 2013 - Navy Pier r

Keynote speakers

* 2019 –

Mark Belling Mark Belling (born July 4, 1956) is an American conservative talk radio host for 1130 WISN in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is also a local newspaper columnist, former television host, and was a guest host for Rush Limbaugh. A native of Wisconsin's ...

r * 2019 – Jeff Baxter * 2019 – Dr. Bridget Behe, Professor of Horticultural Marketing at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

* 2018 – Bob Negen, retail speaker * 2018 –

Daymond John Daymond Garfield John (born February 23, 1969) is an American businessman, investor, and television personality. He is best known as the founder, president, and chief executive officer of FUBU, and appears as an investor on the ABC reality telev ...

* 2018 – Dr. Charlie Hall, Professor and Ellison Chair in International Floriculture at Texas A&M University * 2017 – Bob Phibbs, CEO of The Retail Doctor * 2017 –

Robert J. O'Neill Robert J. O'Neill (born 10 April 1976) is a former United States Navy SEAL (1996–2012), TV news contributor, and author. After participating in May 2011's Operation Neptune Spear with SEAL Team Six, O'Neill was the subject of controversy ...

, * 2017 – John Stanley, international IGC retail consultant of John Stanley Associates * 2016 – Corey Bordine, Consultant for MonkeyBar Management and former president of Bordine Nursery Daymond john

* 2016 – Mike Ditka, * 2016 – Amanda Thomsen, ''Kiss My Aster'' Garden Blogger * 2016 – Bruce Crawford, Director of Rutgers' Gardens, Rutgers University's arboretum & public garden * 2016 – Jonathan Bardzik, Chef & Garden Cookbook Author * 2016 – John Tierney, The New York Times Science Columnist * 2015 – Martha Stewart * 2015 –

Marcus Lemonis Marcus Anthony Lemonis (born November 16, 1973) is a Lebanese-born American businessman, television personality and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Camping World, Good Sam Enterprises, Gander RV and The House Boardshop, i ...

* 2015 – Robert Hendrickson, Business Story Developer for Next New Planet, Marketing Service Provider for The Garden Center Group, and ''IGC Magazine'' columnist * 2015 – Lloyd Traven, President of Peace Tree Farm * 2015 – Ernest Wertheim, Principal of Wertheim, Van Der Ploeg, & Klemeyer * 2014 – Martha Stewart * 2014 – Corey Bordine * 2014 – Willie Degel * 2014 – Henry Hutcheson, President of Family Business USA and ''IGC Magazine'' columnist * 2014 –

Peter Shankman Peter Shankman (born August 6, 1972) is an American entrepreneur and author. He is best known for founding HARO; an online service for journalists to gather feedback from the public. Early life Peter Shankman was born in New York City. He atten ...

* 2013 – Taniya Nayak, Designer, TV Personality and Host of HGTV's ''House Hunters on Vacation'' Martha Stewart and Jeff Morey

* 2013 –

* 2013 – John Stanley, ''IGC Magazine'' columnist * 2012 – Rick Baylessf * 2012 – Corey Bordine * 2012 – Joe Lamp’l, Founder of The Joe Gardener Company, Garden Writer, Author and Host of ''GardenSmart'' and ''Fresh from the Garden'' * 2012 – Joseph Pine, Co-founder of Strategic Horizons and Starizon Studio, and Co-author of ''The Experience Economy: Work is Theater & Every Business a Stage'' * 2011 –

P. Allen Smith Paul Allen Smith, Jr. (born March 12, 1960) is an American television host, garden designer, conservationist, and lifestyle expert. He is the host of three television programs. ''P. Allen Smith's Garden Home'' and ''P. Allen Smith's Garden to Tab ...

* 2011 – Paco Underhill, Founder of Envirosell, Author and Professional Speaker * 2011 – Larry Winget * 2010 –

Howard Bloom Howard Bloom (born June 25, 1943) is an American author. He was a music publicist in the 1970s and 1980s for singers and bands such as Prince (musician), Prince, Billy Joel, and Styx (band), Styx. * 2010 –

Jamie Durie Jamie Paul Durie OAM (born 3 June 1970) is an Australian horticulturalist and landscape designer, furniture designer, television host, television producer, and author of eleven books on landscape architecture, garden design and lifestyle. He is ...

* 2010 – Josh Viertel, President of Slow Food USA * 2009 – Robert Hendrickson, Business Story Developer for Next New Planet, Marketing Service Provider for The Garden Center Group, and ''IGC Magazine'' columnist * 2009 – John Moore, Marketing executive for

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...

and Whole Foods * 2009 – Dr. Patrick Moore, Co-founder of Greenpeace * 2008 – Corey Bordine * 2008 – Diarmuid Gavin, President of Diarmuid Gavin Designs * 2008 – Dick Hayne, CEO of Urban Outfitters * 2008 – John Kinsella, Managing Director of Terrain * 2008 – John Stanley * 2007 –

Susie Coelho Susie Coelho is an American television personality, author, and businesswoman. Early life Susie Coelho was born in Cuckfield, Sussex, England on December 7, 1953 to George and Rani Coelho. She is of Indian heritage and grew up in Bethesda, Mary ...

* 2007 – Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of Pantone Color Institute * 2007 – Charles Fishman, Author of ''The Wal-Mart Effect'' * 2007 – Robyn Waters, Author of ''The Trendmaster’s Guide'' REO Speedwagon IGC Show Aug 2016

Concerts at IGS shows

* 2019:

Jefferson Starship Jefferson Starship is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1974 by a group of musicians including former members of Jefferson Airplane. Between 1974 and 1984, they released eight gold or platinum-selling studio albu ...

*2018:

The Marshall Tucker Band The Marshall Tucker Band is an American rock band from Spartanburg, South Carolina. Noted for incorporating blues, country, and jazz into an eclectic sound, the Marshall Tucker Band helped establish the Southern rock genre in the early 1970s. Whi ...

*2017: Blue Öyster Cult * 2016:

REO Speedwagon REO Speedwagon (originally stylized as R.E.O. Speedwagon) is an American rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial success throughout the 1980s. The ...

;

Gloria Gaynor Gloria Gaynor ( née Fowles; born September 7, 1943) is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits "I Will Survive" (1978), " Let Me Know (I Have a Right)" (1979), " I Am What I Am" (1983), and her version of "Never Can Say Goodbye" ( ...

* 2015: Gin Blossoms * 2014: Don Felder * 2013:

38 Special 38 Special may refer to: * .38 Special The .38 Special, also commonly known as .38 S&W Special (not to be confused with .38 S&W), .38 Smith & Wesson Special, .38 Spl, .38 Spc, (pronounced "thirty-eight special"), or 9x29mmR is a rimmed, cent ...

* 2012: Dennis DeYoung, Music of Styx * 2011: Lou Gramm * 2010: America * 2009:

Charlie Daniels Band Charles Edward Daniels (October 28, 1936 – July 6, 2020) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter. His music fused rock music, rock, country music, country, blues and jazz, pioneering Southern rock. He was best known for his numb ...

* 2008: Kansas * 2007:

Rick Derringer Rick Derringer (born Richard Dean Zehringer; August 5, 1947) is an American guitarist, vocalist, producer and songwriter. He came to prominence in the 1960s as founding member of his band, the McCoys. Their debut single, "Hang on Sloopy", was ...

Founders

* Jeff Morey and Cheryl Morey * ''IGC Magazine'' * Garden Centers of America (GCA) {{cite web, last1=Wertheim, first1=Ernest, title=History of GCA, url=http://gardencentersofamerica.com/page-1499414, access-date=16 November 2015, website=Garden Centers of America

References

Trade shows in the United States