The U.S. organization Grassroots Outdoor Alliance (GOA) has canceled its fall Connect buying show, originally scheduled for Nov. 9-12, 2020 in Kansas City, Missouri. The planned event would have marked the first Connect show to be held in the new venue, but was called off due to ongoing Covid-19-related challenges for attending retailers, exhibiting brands and organizing hosts.
Previously, GOA also canceled their spring Connect show that had been planned for June 12-15 in Knoxville, Tennessee. The team replaced the show with a free online resource center called the Grassroots ConnectHub. As daily usage of ConnectHub by vendors and retailers has remained strong throughout the summer, and as other trade events continue to be canceled in Fall 2020 and beyond, GOA said it will continue growing the ConnectHub as a highly efficient single-stop resource for shops looking to manage a remote buying process.
The next Grassroots Connect shows are planned for June 7-10, 2021 (Knoxville) and Nov. 8-11, 2021 (Kansas City).