The IFAI-Tent Rental Division (TRD) Tent Expo 2011 was recently held at Tradewinds Resort in St. Pete Beach, FL January 24-27. This year’s theme “Work Hard- Play Hard” could have easily been changed to “Don’t mess with mother nature”

The show kicked Monday morning with the usual training sessions and seminars followed by the TRD annual golf outing. Most tent manufactures spent Monday afternoon driving stakes and setting baseplates getting ready for the 8:00am tent installation scheduled for Tuesday morning.

Installations started as planned with tent rental customers watching and observing how each manufacturer’s products were assembled and installed. As afternoon approached the threat of thunderstorms and strong winds increased and at approximately 5:00 EST the threat became a REALITY… Wind gust of approximately 50 mph and 2” of rain required the “Vendor” tent to be evacuated as everyone was asked to take cover in the hotel. Tuesday evening’s reception which was scheduled to be held in a structure on the beach was also moved to a ballroom from inside the hotel. As the rapidly moving stormed passed, there was no damage to any of the tents but just a few stakes pulled from the ground. As one gentleman recounted “twenty years ago every tent here would have blown down during a storm like that” It’s a testament to the tent industry and the people who keep safety first.

The last day of the show welcomed sunnier skies as the attendees returned to both the outdoor and table-top exhibit spaces. One of the highlights of every Tent Expo is the “Tour of Tents” where each manufacturer hosts a five minute presentation to demonstrate and discuss the products they have installed. As the evening progressed, the entire attendance gathered for the closing awards dinner.

This year legendary tent designer Todd Dalland was honored with the prestigious Bruce Wodetzki Award for his contributions to the industry. The award, presented by former recipient J.D. Howell, honors individuals who have made significant contributions to the IFAI Tent Rental Division and the tent rental industry at large. Dalland and Howell were among seven other former recipients of the prestigious award in attendance for the evening’s event.

As the evening turned into night the “Party on the Beach” kicked off in an amazingly installed 20m x 20m Losberger Arcum Structure situated within feet of the warm gulf waters. Live entertainment, games, and dancing carried the fun times late into the night. As the Party on the Beach concluded, those in attendance had the idea to rename this year’s theme of “Work-Hard Play-Hard” to ……….”Worked-Hard Played Harder”.

For additional images see: http://www.aztectent.com/gallery/ifai-2011

For video coverage of the storm see: http://www.aztectent.com/video/ifai-tent-expo-2011-storm-video