The latest in a series of executive conferences produced by The Wall Street Journal has been dubbed Eco:nomics. “No pun intended,” said publisher L. Gordon Crovitz, “but this particular topic is very hot right now.” And for The Journal, good economics; tickets for the March event are priced at $3,495 apiece.

A faux pas is “a slip or blunder in etiquette, manners or conduct.” In a recent article, USA Today recounted the tales of three high-profile blunders that made international headlines: Richard Gere repeatedly kissing an actress at an AIDS awareness rally in New Delhi; the old smoocher Mickey Rooney, who violated Royal protocol by kissing Queen Elizabeth’s hand at a reception in Washington; and President George Bush, who uttered an expletive while talking to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair at a meeting of world leaders in Germany. And the winner is…. Have a nice Labor Day weekend.

At a sitdown function, the position of honor is always to the right of the host. If you are hosting an event, advises meetpete.org guest blogger Pamela Eyring, President of the Protocol School of Washington, place the top VIP directly to your right. When hosting a meal at a restaurant, either pre-pay a pre-set meal in advance…or see the Maitre d’ afterward in private. Never allow a check to be presented at the table.

A survey of senior show organizers attending the Exhibition and Convention Executives Forum (ECEF) held in Washington on May 10th revealed continued growth in the number of exhibitors, overall attendance and the amount of net square footage sold. The industry’s key challenge is the wave of consolidation and mergers, which threaten both attendance and the number of exhibiting companies. Also, the emergence of private events is creating fragmentation in certain industry sectors.