SCA Cancels 2020 Expo & Re:co Symposium
The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) has cancelled the 2020 Re:co Symposium and Specialty Coffee Expo, both of which were scheduled to take place in Portland, Oregon in April.
The announcement came after after many weeks of discussions with their partners regarding the impacts of Covid-19 on SCA events. “Unfortunately, no other viable dates were available for the show to take place in Portland in 2020,” said Yannis Apostolopoulos, CEO, SCA in a letter to exhibitors and members. “We will be working with the SCA USA Chapter to explore options to hold the final US Coffee Championships of the year at a later date as appropriate. Re:co and Expo will return in April 2021 in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana.”
The 2021 Re:co Symposium is scheduled for 21-22 April. The Specialty Coffee Expo will immediately follow it taking place 23-25 April 2021.
For any company registered as an exhibitor for Expo 2020, the SCA will automatically credit the exhibitor registration fees to Expo New Orleans. For those unable to attend Expo 2021, contact the SCA via email at [email protected] and they will issue a full refund for the exhibitor fees paid for Expo 2020.
“I would like to send a heartfelt thank you to every single one of our sponsors, exhibitors, attendees, and volunteers for your patience and understanding over the past few weeks while we negotiated the future of these two events with our partners,” said Apostolopoulos. “Many of you [have been wondering] why it has taken so long to announce the cancellation of these two events…The Specialty Coffee Expo is the largest specialty coffee event in North America, and in order to make it happen, we engage in contracts with the venue and with over two dozen other partners, including hotels and other local businesses.”
He explained that when it became clear that it would not be possible to find new dates for later in the year in Portland, the SCA’s negotiations with these partners focused on ending these contracts without putting the SCA, a nonprofit association, in danger of legal retribution from these businesses, many of which are also experiencing similar difficulties amid this crisis.
“The SCA staff and volunteers who gather at Expo every year are heartbroken that we will not be able to see you in Portland this year, but we look forward to seeing you in New Orleans in April 2021,” said Apostolopoulos. “Stay safe and please remember to take a look at the various resources we have been compiling related to the impact of Covid-19 on the coffee industry by visiting: sca.coffee/covid19.”