People of Play (POP) has revealed its event schedule for the 22nd annual POP Week, an event where inventors, manufacturers, retailers, media, and consumers come together in Rosemont, Illinois, to celebrate, play, and discover the latest toy innovations.
From Nov. 6- 10, various industry-focused events will be held, starting with the Inventor Pitch and Innovation Conferences, which will run from Nov. 6-9. Over 80 product acquisition executives from over 50 companies worldwide will be looking for new toy and game ideas. On Nov. 8, the 17th annual TAGIE Awards Gala, hosted by Karri Bean, Senior Licensing Manager, at Disney Consumer Products, Experiences and Consumer
Products, kicks off at Joe’s LIVE Concert venue, where toy industry people will come together to celebrate the past year’s innovations. Mary Danby and Dan Romanelli will be honored as the Lifetime Achievement recipients, and Alan Dorfman will be honored as the Industry Game Changer.
On Nov. 9, there will be two events: the Play in Education (PIE) Conference and the 19th annual Young Inventors Challenge. The conference will bring together toy industry leaders and PIE experts to discuss the future of MESH. and STEAM– focused toys, while the challenge invites kids from all over the world to use their creativity and problem-solving skills to create the next big toy.
From Nov. 9- 10, the 22nd annual Chicago Toy and Game Fair (CHITAG) will be available to all to attend and enjoy! Highlights for the event will include The Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago, and NW Indiana cutting the ribbon to open the Fair with Rosemont’s Mayor Stephens, the Star Wars Character Lunch(Nov 10 only), the Duncan Yo-Yos pro champions and Illinois State Yo-Yo Contest, the Giant Jenga, Klask, Eat Your Words, and Flip7 tournaments, meeting with various toy developers and inventors, and much more. For more details on the fair’s events, as well as the other events during POP week, visit the CHITAG website.
