Lightapalooza has a new owner. In a statement shared this week, AVIXA—the Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association—announced that it had acquired the show from HTSA. Terms of the deal were not shared, but it is an immediate transition for the event. AVIXA said the 2027 edition of Lightapalooza will be co-located with InfoComm in Orlando.
First launched in 2022 by industry veteran and HTSA’s resident director of new technology initiatives, Tom Doherty, Lightapalooza has grown into one of the can’t-miss industry events tied to one of the can’t-ignore categories in home technology. Its meteoric rise since launch certainly garnered the interest of just about everyone in the industry—so much so that it apparently became the must-have event for at least one expo-hosting organization.
The show grew from 225 attendees in its first year to more than 1,600 this past February in Austin (despite having to compete with the NKBA and NAHB shows).
“HTSA saw a need for its community to connect in exploration of business growth opportunities. They created this space to bring the channel together to do that through product demonstrations, training, education, and professional networking,” David Labuskes, CTS, CAE, RCDD, Chief Executive Officer of AVIXA, said in the statement. “As the trade association for the AV industry, one of AVIXA’s roles is to help facilitate the marketplace. We do this in many ways, most notably through our trade shows around the world—the premier forum for connection.”
In a separate note sent out to Lightapalooza exhibitors that was shared with Connected Design, Doherty expressed gratitude for the community’s trust and investment in making the event a true success.
“Your booths, your people, your willingness to invest in something new when it was still finding its footing,” he said. “You built this with me, and I won’t forget that.”
Doherty admitted that the show had outgrown what HTSA was able to do alone. In order to continue advancing and doing right by the industry, they felt the time was right to look for an exhibition partner.
“AVIXA brings what this show needs for what’s next: infrastructure, reach, and an events team that knows how to do this at scale,” he said. “I’ll still be here. HTSA will still be here. The education, the relationships, the feel of the floor, everything that makes Lightapalooza worth coming back to, none of that is going anywhere. It’s getting a bigger stage.”
Partners were encouraged to keep an eye out for announcements from the AVIXA team that would be coming in short order with more info about the 2027 show.
