HallBriefTrade show account intelligence

NACA Live 2027

NACA Live brings student programming boards, campus activities staff, talent agencies, and event suppliers into the same national buying conversation.

Feb 19-22, 2027 · Greater Columbus Convention Center

Visitors expected
2,200
Show days
4

In 2026, it drew 226 campuses and 1,173 campus delegates. The audience is unusually student-led: the mix typically runs toward student leaders, alongside the professional staff who advise them. Suppliers need to understand both the students choosing a program and the campus approval process behind it.

The Campus Activities Marketplace sits at the center of a program of live talent showcases, education, and networking. A performance lets a board judge an act in front of an audience; the Marketplace turns that reaction into a discussion about a campus booking. NACA Live remains the association’s flagship national convention as its regional conferences move toward the NACA LABs learning format. That leaves Live with a distinct role for schools evaluating entertainment, interactive programs, and services across the college market.

How it compares

  1. APCA National Campus Activities ConferenceHershey
  2. This show: NACA LiveColumbus, 2,200
  3. NACA St. PaulSt. Paul

APCA National Campus Activities Conference is the closest alternative for a programming board buying campus entertainment. Its Hershey gathering pairs artist showcases and exhibits with student leadership training and an explicit cooperative buying program. Schools that want that buying structure alongside talent discovery have a clear reason to consider it. NACA’s current approach uses NACA 24/7 activity mapping, availability inquiries, and contract requests to help schools and suppliers coordinate potential multi-campus discounts.

NACA St. Paul offers a spring regional conference option for Upper Midwest teams. Its regional setting makes it a different calendar choice from the February national convention, especially for schools planning their next round of campus programs closer to home. Live brings that work into the association’s national setting, where the supplier can meet campus programmers from across the country.

NACA LABs will shift the regional offer toward practical education, professional development, and deliberate networking from fall 2027. Associates will participate as educational and experiential partners. For a staff member developing programming practice, that format has a different purpose from spending a convention comparing live acts and Marketplace suppliers. NACA Live fits the latter task, with education woven around the entertainment and supplier encounter.

NACA Live fits campus programming teams that want students and advisors to evaluate entertainment together and turn live showcases into campus bookings.

Who exhibits

The Marketplace covers attractions, live variety, interactive programs, make-and-takes, promotional products, technology services, and turnkey programming. Every associate attending NACA Live must take exhibit space, so the commercial side includes performers and agencies as well as conventional vendors. Showcase selection adds an on-stage route to the same campus buyers; an act can still exhibit without winning a performance slot. The mix rewards suppliers who can explain how their offer works on a college campus.

This year's list is on its way. A HallBrief brief ranks every exhibitor against your goals and finds who to meet at each. Get a brief

NACA Live 2027

NACA Live 2027 keeps Columbus as its meeting point and adds a Sunday Ohio State Union Takeover. A new Professional Development Hub brings resume reviews and a job board into the school attendee experience, while poster sessions give campus members space to present research and projects. The Welcome Lounge returns with activations, registration, and the business hub. The Friday welcome reception also gets a new format, extending the program beyond the Marketplace and stage showcases.

  • Bring the student board and its advisor into the same talent discussion: NACA’s school audience is strongly student-led, but booking authority varies by campus.
  • Use the Showcase Artist Meet & Greets to follow up on the acts you have just watched; each Spotlight Showcase has a dedicated follow-up slot.
  • Treat the Ohio State Union Takeover as part of the supplier evaluation: its programming spaces are built for live campus experiences beyond the convention center.

Exhibiting

National associate membership, exhibit space, and at least one full conference registration are required. Registration is purchased separately from the booth. Showcase applications go through a separate selection process and bring additional fees if selected. The attraction-space option accommodates large demonstrations, while the Welcome Lounge activation packages suit suppliers whose campus offer is best experienced in use.

What your brief includes

The full exhibitor list, and what to do with it.

  1. Halvorsen ProzesstechnikIndustrial machinery / Germany#3
  2. Alpenküche SystemeCommercial kitchens / Austria#4
  3. Brauwerk WielandBeverages / Germany#5

#3Halvorsen Prozesstechnik

Why it matters
Their hygienic conveyor line fits the plant expansion you described.
Who to meet
Head of Key Accounts, Food Processing
What to ask
Lead times for installations in 2027.

Example from a sample brief. The company is fictional.

How a brief is made

  1. Tell us your goals

    A short interview: what you want from NACA Live and which kinds of partners you are after.

  2. We research each company, one by one

    For each company: what it makes, who it sells to, how it fits your goals and who buys there. Then we compare them side by side and rank the ones worth your time.

  3. Walk in with a plan

    A ranked list, a deep dive on each of your top picks, the people to meet and a strategy deck, all before the doors open.

Walk into NACA Live knowing who to meet.

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