Natural Marketplace Show

For those of you who followed "Rick's Roadshow" over the past five days know that I was in Las Vegas for three of the five days. I was attending the Natural Marketplace 2007, a trade show and conference sponsored by The Natural Products Association.
It was not an especially large trade show, but there was a wide variety of vendors and products in attendance. My company carries a huge selection of natural and eco-friendly pet products, including natural and organic dog and cat food, so I attended this event to learn more about the trends in the marketplace.

As with any trade show, there are always a variety of interesting sights. I tried to snap a few photos to capture the atmosphere and cast of characters. Here I am (at left) posing with a skeleton who has an iPhone in his hand. The vendor was raffling off iPhones as their gimmick to attract passers-by. After taking this photo, the vendor proceeded to "scan" the bar code on my name badge, no doubt with the intention of sending me piles of junk mail in days to come. It seemed a small price to pay for the photo op with a skeleton using a cell phone.
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Shortly thereafter I ran into a booth with a pair of women wearing fresh orchids on their heads. Like a moth to a flame, I was instantly drawn in to this spectacle. As I approached the booth, I discovered it was none other than The Amazing Aloha Linda, who is an entertainer extraordinaire. She hosts a TV show from Hawaii and series of inspirational videos for fitness and self affirmations. In this photo, Aloha Linda is on the left, (the TV screen has her TV show playing). I enjoyed chatting with her- as it turns out, she lived in Palm Springs with her family for a number of years. I started to explain that I am The Palm Springs Savant, but I decided it could be dangerous. What if she wanted me to hawk her videos on my blog??? But then again, maybe I could guest star on one of her TV episodes? Hmmmm.
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A Few Other Interesting sights...

Above: Yoga Lady

Above: The Xango juice booth...it looked like a nightclub lounge inside the booth

Above: Celebrity Chef Organic cooking show...I wonder how he would have done on "Hells Kitchen"?

Above: There's always one in the bunch. Here is Dr Wacky. He was in his booth pitching his products and holistic approach to skin care. Actually his stuff looks pretty good, but I just couldn't get past the name. All in all, it was a fun show
-Rick Rockhill