COLUMBUS, Ohio — The fourth-annual North America Pizza & Ice Cream Show (NAPICS) will be held Feb. 25 and 26 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio. The event is projected to attract a national audience of more than 4,500 pizzeria and ice cream shop operators.
NAPICS is a show for pizza and ice cream professionals — owners, managers and operators — and provides a forum for meeting a variety of food and equipment vendors while networking with peers and learning from experts. NAPICS will feature exhibits and demonstrations of new products and equipment, seminars and workshops covering tried and true "how to" procedures and innovative methodologies, and friendly competitions.
"When you're focused on the day-to-day operations of your business it's hard to think strategically about what's next," says Ann Reichle, NAPICS chairwoman, who also is co-owner and operator of Angelina's Pizza in Olmsted Falls, Ohio. "That's why owner/operators of pizza and ice cream establishments make time to attend NAPICS. I've had NAPICS attendees tell me that they can directly attribute increases in their business to information they gathered at the show."
Educational offerings include seminars and workshops that feature well-known experts, along with peer-to-peer teaching sessions. "Big Dave Ostrander is a favorite who really knows how to excite and inspire participants," Reichle said. Ostrander is an author, columnist and speaker who is a foodservice management professional and was owner of Big Dave's Pizza, once ranked the 25th busiest pizzeria in the United States. Ice cream and gelato operators will hear from frozen dessert experts about dipping techniques, cake decorating and adding frozen beverages to the menu.
More than 200 exhibitors will demonstrate the latest advances in equipment for pizzerias and ice cream shops and will provide samples of new food products, including a variety of products for Italian dishes, coffees and dessert items, as well as pizza and ice cream.
Friendly competition includes the twelfth-annual North America Pizza Pizzazz (read also Pizza makers vie for more than $11,000 cash in '07 Pizza Pizzazz), the longest running pizza-making competition in the United States. In 2007, competitors will vie for cash prizes of nearly $12,000, including two first place prizes of $5,000. Attendees also benefit from "Ask the Experts" sessions, which are held in the Interactive Pizza Test Kitchen where attendees can "Ask It, Try It, Test It."
As an added attraction to this year's show, the Ohio Restaurant Association will have a drawing for a large flat-screen TV at its booth, No. 101. All attendees will want to be sure and register for a chance to win.
Registration is $25 per person before Feb. 23, and $50 per person after that. Visit www.napics.com to register or call 800-909-7469. The show is open to trade only. No one under 14 will be admitted. NAPICS is sponsored by PizzaMarketplace.com, the number-one source for pizza news and information on the Internet.
