CRE is bullish about Birmingham as preparations progress for Midlands show

[ BIRMINGHAM’S FAMOUS BULLS are set to welcome the next edition of the Christian Resources Exhibitions – CRE Midlands 2023. The event will take place at Cranmore Park in the city’s Solihull district on 8-9 November this year: and by the end of January, with 10 months to go, two thirds of the stands had already been booked.

Unique in the church calendar, CRE Midlands 2023 will bring dozens of organisations together on an exhibition floor offering vital expertise and advice to hundreds of local church leaders, office holders and anyone involved in Christian work and ministry. It will offer a day of discovery – of new ideas and resources, specialist advice and inspirational worship and teaching.

CRE provides a great context for networking and creative thinking. It really is a one-stop shop for church supplies, resources and ideas.

“Our exhibitors want us to take the exhibition to new venues where they can make fresh contacts,” said CRE’s owner Steve Goddard. “We’re delighted to respond with the first-ever CRE at Cranmore Park: a friendly, relaxed venue, conveniently located near the motorway network in the heart of England.

“At other nearby centres parking can prove prohibitively expensive for exhibitor and visitor alike – but Cranmore Park has space for hundreds of vehicles. And it’s free!”

CRE’s last visit to the Midlands, in March 2020, coincided with the onset of COVID-19, so Steve is happy to be returning in 2023.

“We’re returning in doublequick time to make sure churches throughout Greater Birmingham and beyond benefit from the goods and services offered by an expected 140 organisations on the exhibition floor,” he said.

Response has been overwhelmingly positive and more than half of the space had been sold or reserved within two weeks of going on sale.

“This is well beyond expectations; and while it doesn’t make up for the disappointment of losing a muchanticipated exhibition in Liverpool, we are heartened by the commitment of our valued exhibitors,” said Steve.

Event director Brett Pitchfork explained: “Our northern exhibition, scheduled for May, had to be cancelled because the hall we booked was requisitioned for the Eurovision Song Contest. So, with only one showcase this year, organisations across many different sectors – from finance to furniture, mission to musical instruments – have booked for CRE Midlands 2023. On average, two or three stands are being taken every week, so we are confident of a full exhibition floor in what is a brand-new venue for us.

“Almost 50% of the visitors at our regional exhibitions in Manchester and Exeter told us they had never been to a CRE: anywhere! Still more had not been for many years. We expect similar statistics at CRE Midlands 2023. Reaching fresh contacts is what our exhibitors have requested and we are happy to oblige.”

The show brochure, available to download from www.creonline.co.uk, gives plenty of reasons for exhibiting: for example, 77% of visitors either influence or make the final decision when choosing products or services for their church or deciding which charities to support. A similar proportion are there to find new resources for their ministry and over a third are ordained clergy.

If the response of Rev Mike Royal, general secretary of Churches Together in England (pictured right), is anything to go by, the event will be a great success.

“I'm delighted CRE is coming to Birmingham,” he said. “It provides a unique opportunity for church and charity leaders to engage with the widest network of Christian organisations seeking to make a difference at home and aboard. I am looking forward to seeing many people at Cranmore Park!”

The show opening times are 10am-5pm on 8 November and 10am-4.30pm on 9 November. Tickets will be £4 if booked in advance (£3 each for groups of three or more), available from May, and £8 on the door. q

• For stand enquiries contact Carol Malpass on 0161 250 2467; email carol@creonline.co.uk, or James Batterbee on 0161 250 2306; email james@creonline.co.uk. The latest floorplan, showing available stands, is available to view at the CRE website.