Record Early Bird Registration for ASLA 2014 Annual Meeting & EXPO

WASHINGTON, June 25, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) announced today that registration and tickets sales to date for its 2014 annual meeting and EXPO have outpaced the previous six meetings. The meeting will be held November 21-24 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.

To date, more than 2,128 attendees are pre-registered and registration and ticket revenue has reached 65 percent of the budget goal. EXPO and sponsorship sales now total nearly 80 percent of the budget goal. Based on these early indications, nearly 6,000 attendees and 450 exhibitors are expected to participate.

"To put it in perspective, 21 weeks prior to our 2013 meeting—ASLA's second largest meeting attendance on record—we were only at 56 percent of our budget goal and had fewer registrants," said Joyce DePass, director of meetings and special programs for the ASLA. "Ticket sales to special events are very strong this year. Clearly, Denver is going to be a tremendous meeting for the Society in terms of both attendance and revenue." The annual meeting and EXPO provide more than 34 percent of the Society's annual budget revenue. 

The top five states represented among the pre-registered attendees are California, Colorado, New York, Texas and Pennsylvania. Three percent of pre-registrants are from outside the U.S., led by Canada, China, Slovenia, Mexico and the United Kingdom. Seventeen percent of pre-registrants are students or young practitioners who graduated within the past three years.

The special event drawing the most ticket sales so far is the new Edible Landscape Celebration, featuring the Alumni Tailgate. "We've merged the best elements of the former Gala and the Alumni Tailgate into a single event celebrating the local food movement," said DePass. "Landscape architects are uniquely positioned to redirect land use and plants to meet growing consumer demand for healthier, sustainably produced food." Celebrity chefs Matthew Raiford and Alex Seidel have created a custom menu for the event and attendees are encouraged to wear their school colors to network with fellow alumni, faculty and students.

About the American Society of Landscape Architects
Founded in 1899, ASLA is the national professional association for landscape architects, representing more than 15,000 members in 49 professional chapters and 72 student chapters. Members of the Society use "ASLA" after their names to denote membership and their commitment to the highest ethical standards of the profession. Landscape architects lead the stewardship, planning, and design of our built and natural environments; the Society's mission is to advance landscape architecture through advocacy, communication, education, and fellowship.

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SOURCE American Society of Landscape Architects