August 9/Chicago/Press Release -- The National Confectioners Association, sponsor of the SWEETS & SNACKS EXPO®, announced that the dates of the 2012 EXPO have changed to May 8-10 in an effort to avoid G8 Summit activities happening later in the month.  Last week, NATO announced its annual Global Summit for world leaders will take place at Chicago’s McCormick Place May 15-22, coinciding with the 2012 EXPO originally scheduled for May 22-24.

"Chicago has welcomed our annual EXPO since its inception 15 years ago so it is no surprise that city officials, along with leadership at McCormick Place, have gone above and beyond and together we decided on a mutually acceptable alternative," commented NCA president Larry Graham. "Due to the comprehensive security and logistics requirements surrounding the G8 Summit, shifting the dates made the best business sense for our industry.” Graham added that despite the change in dates, the 2012 EXPO will still be held in the popular West building and will retain the Tuesday-Thursday date pattern customers have asked for year after year. In addition, the EXPO will again overlap with the NRA Show happening May 5-8th which also altered its dates due to the G8 Summit.