If this is your first time, it will be so overwhelming. You will not believe how many quilts there are & how many vendors they have there. First know there's more than one floor of quilts & vendors to see at the convention center. Also there is the downtown area that has antique shops & vendors hidden in the buildings there. Eleanor Burns has a quilt shop in the downtown area plus she puts on a wonderful show out at the park (down the street from the Rotary Club & Dairy Queen) & has tons of things to see & buy there. Then there's Hancocks & if you love fighting crowds this will be the place for you. I personally don't buy that much fabric (I'm more of a gadget person)so Hancocks is not a must do for me. They have sooo much fabric & have great deals in the back. There use to be vendors in the Mall but I haven't made it there the last couple years because they had sorta dwindled off there. There's the quilt museum right down the street from the convention center that has quilts to see also, past winning quilts from the quilt show I think. Lots of places to eat, The Rotary club across the street from Dairy Queen has a quilt show & vendors there that's quite interesting. Then Hobby lobby has a sale on their fabrics too if you like HObby lobby's fabrics. But be sure to wear comfortable shoes & take a water bottle with you. You will be popping a squat quite often on the ground & a good bottle of water is refreshing! Have fun hope to see you there.