The Painting Contractors Association’s annual PCA EXPO event has been a fixture in the professional painting community for over a century. One of the largest paint industry events in the world, EXPO offers a unique opportunity for painting contractors and other industry professionals to expand their knowledge, learn new skills, and exchange ideas in an environment that cannot be replicated through online or remote gatherings.
The 2027 PCA EXPO will be held at the Hyatt Regency in downtown New Orleans from Feb. 15-19, with a full week of educational programming, hands-on training, product showcases, and networking opportunities, ending with a Paint It Forward charity event. The 2026 event drew more than 1,100 contractors representing 43 states and seven countries, and featured 18 total hours of educational programming alongside 24 hours of networking and social events. Attendees can expect a similarly robust schedule in New Orleans.
Moving Beyond the Daily Grind
Operating a painting business can sometimes feel like navigating a constantly-shifting obstacle course. Urgent daily tasks barge their way in front of important long-term goals, leaving owners, managers, and painters in the field scrambling from one challenge to the next, without a strong sense of cadence or direction. One of the main objectives of the 2027 EXPO conference is to equip painting contractors with the knowledge and practical solutions they need to move past that cycle, and to develop more rhythm and momentum in their work.
That idea comes to life in this year’s “Find Your Rhythm” theme, inspired by New Orleans and its history as the birthplace of jazz. The city’s musical heritage offers a fitting metaphor for the challenges and opportunities of running a business. Jazz is characterized by skillful improvisation, with individual players adjusting to each other and to changing musical themes on the fly. When it comes to the painting business, technology, markets, and the landscape of the industry are always evolving, and contractors have to adapt in real time in order to keep their businesses moving forward.
Accordingly, the 2027 EXPO program features a variety of presentations, hands-on workshops, networking activities, and product demos addressing the most relevant challenges and opportunities facing painting contractors today, with a special focus on steps contractors can take to achieve momentum and operational stability. The agenda was designed to appeal to everyone—owners, team members, and painters—with content addressing everything from the challenges of leading a multimillion-dollar operation to better product application techniques housed under one roof.
AI Bootcamp: Putting AI Tools to Work
For contractors eager to learn more about AI and how it can help to manage and grow their businesses, EXPO will offer a full-day AI Bootcamp on Feb. 15 led by Jess Majno, founder and CEO of Idyllo, and experts from the Carbide team. The workshop is designed to help painting business owners, managers, and team members develop practical AI skills they can put to work immediately. Rather than focusing narrowly on chatbots or building standalone applications, participants will learn how to use AI tools, connectors, and automated workflows to streamline essential business processes and make better use of their existing software. Attendees will work directly on their laptops, with instructors providing real-time guidance and feedback to help them overcome obstacles and accelerate their learning.
The bootcamp is expected to offer two tracks tailored to different levels of experience. AI Foundations will focus on contractors who have experimented with tools like ChatGPT or Claude but haven’t yet translated that experience into meaningful applications for their businesses. Participants will learn how to use AI skills, connectors, and plug-ins to build reliable automations for everyday tasks. Advanced AI Workflows will serve participants who are already familiar with prompting and basic AI integrations, introducing more sophisticated techniques for deploying AI agents, coordinating multi-step processes, and connecting business systems through platforms like n8n, Make, and Zapier. Space will be limited, and interested attendees can reserve a spot through the PCA EXPO website.
Trade Show and Product Theater
The EXPO trade show has grown steadily in recent years, and interest from industry vendors is particularly strong heading into 2027. The exhibit floor sold out nearly six months in advance of the event, with additional vendors currently on a waiting list. Participating companies include the Sherwin-Williams Company, SurfPrep, 3M, Benjamin Moore, Behr Process, Titan Tool, Pittsburgh Paint Company, DripJobs, and Farrow & Ball. The trade show will take place in the afternoon on Feb. 17, with no competing educational sessions scheduled during that period to give attendees four uninterrupted hours to explore the exhibit floor and meet with representatives from the top manufacturers and service providers in the industry.
2027 EXPO attendees will also have access to daily opportunities for hands-on learning through EXPO’s Product Theater sessions, where manufacturers and application experts will conduct live demonstrations and give participants an exclusive close-up view of how different tools and materials perform in the field. These workshops provide a unique opportunity for participants to engage directly with instructors and gain experience with innovative techniques that can improve their performance on the job.
Networking and Learning from Other Contractors
Many longtime EXPO attendees say the most valuable learning moments occur in the course of conversations with other contractors. “My favorite experience of the PCA EXPO was the incredible wealth of knowledge shared among the contractors present,” said Chad Turpen, founder of Turpen’s Painting in Indiana. “Meeting like-minded professionals dedicated to their craft not only reinvigorated my passion but also encouraged me to strive for greater excellence in my work.”
Corrie Leister, owner of Inspired By U Home Renovations, added, “What truly made the experience unforgettable were the connections I made outside the classroom. The conversations at dinners, in hallways, and during casual moments created relationships that left a lasting impact. The people and their generosity are what truly set the PCA EXPO apart from other events. Now, attending the EXPO feels like a family reunion, filled with familiar faces and new opportunities to grow together.”
Next year’s event is designed to create more opportunities for connection through structured and organic networking, small-group discussions, and the conference’s popular Brain Meld sessions. Brain Melds bring small groups of contractors together for topic-driven roundtable discussions in a range of areas, from sales and marketing to craftsmanship and technology. These discussions provide attendees with the chance to compare experiences, ask questions, and learn how other painting businesses are approaching the same challenges they see in their day-to-day work.
Celebrating the Industry and Giving Back
EXPO is also an opportunity to recognize the people who have made meaningful contributions to the painting industry as a whole. The annual PCA Awards recognize contractors and industry partners who have demonstrated excellence in craftsmanship, professional leadership, and community service. Examples include Best Exterior Residential Restoration, Best Light Industrial Project, Best Decorative Wall Covering, and the Creative Business Marketing Strategy award. The application window is open through Jan. 8, and winners will be announced during a special ceremony on Feb. 17. Visit pcapaint.org/2027-awards/ to apply today.
The conference will conclude on Feb. 19, with PCA’s Paint It Forward charity event, in which contractors and industry partners join forces to complete a community service project in the host city. In 2026, PCA members attending the EXPO conference in Orlando repainted the Give Kids The World village, an amusement park designed to accommodate children fighting significant medical challenges. Over the past several years, these annual projects have involved hundreds of contractors and generated an estimated $200,000-$300,000 in donated labor and materials. The 2027 project location is still being finalized, but attendees can expect a memorable opportunity to put their skills to work for the New Orleans community.
Registration
PCA EXPO 2027 is open to both members and nonmembers, and contractors who register early can save substantially on admission. As in previous years, the PCA Education Foundation is also offering a limited number of scholarships to help select contractors attend. Early-bird registration ends on Dec. 11. Attendees who register before the deadline will save $400 compared with the full on-site registration price. EXPO registration includes access to the full slate of educational programming and networking opportunities, as well as the trade show, daily on-site breakfast and lunch, and vendor-hosted evening receptions. Registered attendees can take advantage of a special room rate of $279 per night, plus tax, at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans.
Over the course of a single week, PCA EXPO 2027 attendees can gain valuable new knowledge and skills, exchange ideas with peers, and enjoy everything the city of New Orleans has to offer. They will return home with a better understanding of what’s happening across the industry and an industry-wide network of contacts, friends, and mentors.
Visit pcapainted.org/expo to register before the early-bird deadline on Dec. 11.