The first big event is coming to Sacramento’s new convention center as pandemic fades
.jpg "The Almond Conference returns to downtown Sacramento in December. It will draw 4,000 in the first major event at the newly renovated SAFE Credit Union Convention Center.")
It’s shaping up as the first big convention in Sacramento since the COVID-19 pandemic started — and the first mega-event in the city’s newly-renovated convention center.
The Almond Board of California said Monday it will stage its annual almond industry conference in December at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in downtown Sacramento.
Expected attendance: about 4,000 almond farmers and others in the industry.
Known as the Almond Conference, the event was held at Cal Expo in 2019, when the convention center was being renovated, and went virtual last year as pandemic stay-at-home orders essentially killed the convention industry in California and elsewhere.
The facility was remodeled and expanded at a cost of $245 million and has sold naming rights to the SAFE Credit Union. The credit union also purchased the naming rights to the remodeled community center theater, which will reopen in September with performances of the Broadway smash hit “Hamilton.”
Mike Testa, president of Visit Sacramento, the region’s convention and visitors bureau, said other events will precede the Dec. 7-9 almond conference, including a Sac Anime convention scheduled for Labor Day weekend.
But the almond conference will almost surely be the first “citywide business convention” in the post-pandemic era, he said. It’s unlikely that Visit Sacramento would be able to book any other major conventions on such short notice, he said.
“We know our members and everyone who attends will really enjoy the reimagined building,” said Richard Waycott, the almond board’s president, in a prepared statement. “Being in person this year presents a great opportunity for farmers to collaborate with researchers and their peers on responsible farming practices.”