Naperville chamber to sponsor Expo 2008 Tuesday

It was what looked like footprints in the sand that stopped visitors in their tracks at last year's Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce Expo.

"It looked so realistic," said Shane Beard, owner of Naperville's FastSigns, the business with the faux sand exhibit. "If they didn't stop and touch it, they'd drag their toe across it to see if they could move some sand."

Beard said the convincing optical illusion graphic did its job -- it inspired people to do what he calls a "stutter step," or double-take, at his booth.

Beard and FastSigns will be back again at this year's expo on Tuesday. He said he wouldn't miss the annual business networking opportunity.

"It's a good time to rekindle old friendships and business relationships, as well make an impact on the new people who haven't heard about you," he said.

The all-day event will feature about 78 exhibit booths and 10 lobby table-top displays in the ballroom at Bobak's Signature Events, a Woodridge banquet hall, said Lisa Livingston, the chamber's manager of events services.

All sorts of businesses will be represented, from caterers to publishing operations, to health-care providers to retailers.

The chamber chose Bobak's for the expo location for the third consecutive year, Livingston said.

"It seems like a good central location," she said. "We do draw from all over Naperville."

The chamber's membership base, which consists of about 2,000 businesses, includes companies based not only in Naperville, but in surrounding towns, including Lisle, Wheaton and Bolingbrook, she said.

"About 40 percent of our membership is outside of Naperville," she said.

While many businesses are returning to the expo for another year, Livingston said a fair number of new exhibitors will be in the mix.

"We have a lot of new chamber members this year," she said. "Every year we always have different companies."

The expo also will offer a sampling of the Naperville area's culinary fare with its Taste of the Expo fair-within-a-fair.

"They will be handing out samples of their food all day long," Livingston said.

Many other exhibitors traditionally hand out free promotional trinkets, she said.

A Business-After-Hours networking session, a regular chamber feature, will cap the expo from 5 to 6:30 p.m., she said.

Expo 2008 is free and open to the public.

"We're expecting about 1,500 attendees," Livingston said.

Those who attend this year may catch Shane Beard and FastSigns' latest display designed to get people gawking.

"I think this year we're going to have coffee beans," Beard hinted. "It's going to be another big show, as Ed Sullivan used to say."

If you go

What: Expo 2008, sponsored by Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce

When: 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Bobak's Signature Events, 6440 Double Eagle Drive, Woodridge

Cost: Free

Info: (630) 355-4141 or naperville.net