Modern Day Marine 2027 · April 13–15, 2027 · Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington
Modern Day Marine 2027 booth design & build in Washington
Custom and rental exhibits for tactical vehicles, comms, unmanned systems and expeditionary logistics, built so an acquisition visitor reads your capability from the aisle. Union labor, Freeman dock targets and drayage at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center handled by Purple's Mid-Atlantic crew.
Two women engineers discussing a project in a technical laboratory
Purple at Modern Day Marine 2027
What makes Modern Day Marine different, and how we build for it
Modern Day Marine is the Marine Corps' own exposition, sponsored by the Marine Corps League and the Marine Corps Association and produced with Emerald X. The 2026 edition put more than 350 companies on more than 84,000 square feet in Halls A and B, with professional military education briefs, the OBJ1 Wargaming Convention, the Congressional Breakfast, Modern Day Marine Honors and 1-on-1 meetings with Marine Corps Systems Command program managers running beside the exhibits. Access is limited to the defense community, so the people who stop at your booth are acquisition specialists, program managers and the Marines who use the equipment. A booth here needs one clear capability at the aisle and a place to hold the follow-up conversation.
A one-line scope statement, a labeled product or scale model, and literature close at hand so staff can answer a procurement question without a full briefing at the aisle.
A standing discussion surface beside the product where support scope, maintenance interfaces and integration questions can be worked through with cleared material.
An interface diagram, a short statement of the partnership being sought, and a small meeting position that does not take the main display out of service.
Purple in Washington, D.C.
Local crew, national shop
Serving the major convention venues across the capital, our D.C. team coordinates transport, local logistics and precise installation to keep your booth on schedule.
Predictable 30–45-day turnarounds, secure storage and pre-show QA. Your booth ships from our production shop in Fishkill, NY or our Las Vegas hub, and our project manager is on the floor for install and dismantle.
Booth options for Modern Day Marine 2027
Pick a footprint. We’ll price it as a rental, a custom build, or a hybrid.
Modern Day Marine floors mix large prime islands with rows of 10×10 and 10×20 inlines from component, comms and software suppliers. Most Purple clients here choose a 10×20 with one hero product and a standing discussion counter, or a 20×20 island that separates the public display from a seated meeting zone.
One compact device or subsystem on a lit fixture, a capability headline at the aisle and a standing counter for a first conversation.
See 10×10 rental booths →
A hero product or scale model, a controlled presentation screen and a discussion counter with concealed storage for literature and cases.
See 10×20 rental booths →
An open product zone for a vehicle mock-up or unmanned system, a seated meeting area and a hanging sign visible across Hall A or B.
See 20×20 rental booths →
Several division stations under one company story, a full-size vehicle or shelter, a briefing theater and private meeting rooms.
See 20×30 rental booths →All-in 2026 ranges for design, structure, graphics, installation and dismantle; booth space, drayage and show services are separate. A custom-built booth runs roughly $100 to $250 per square foot depending on finish level. A rental of the same footprint usually lands at 35 to 50 percent of the purchase price for one show. Get an exact number for Modern Day Marine with the booth cost calculator or read the 2026 booth cost guide.
Send the show, your booth size and what the space needs to do. We return a fixed proposal, usually within two business days.
Built by Purple
Booths we have designed, built and installed
Case study · Shapoorji Pallonji
Shapoorji Pallonji at engineering and infrastructure exhibition
A structured, powerful booth for a global engineering group founded in 1865, built to communicate scale, trust and engineering excellence.
Read the Shapoorji Pallonji case study All case studies →“They handle everything end to end so clients can really just show up and not worry about anything. Doesn’t get any better than that.”
Tess Bockes, Exit King Realty · more client reviews
Designing for defense and Marine Corps equipment suppliers at Modern Day Marine
Four things we get right for Modern Day Marine exhibitors
Name the capability before the detail
Lead the aisle graphic with one category such as communications, sensing or maintenance support, paired with a single recognizable product. We build the display so a visitor understands what you supply before the terminology starts, then guide them to the specialist who can go deeper.
Label every model and mock-up
When the full system cannot travel, we build a scale model or cutaway and print its scale, purpose and display status into the fixture graphics. Handling permissions from your cleared brief go on the label so staff and visitors know what can be touched.
Control the screen, not the crowd
Presenter controls sit where accidental navigation never reaches the audience screen. We load a small set of approved sequences with a clear starting state, position the display so a group can watch without blocking the aisle, and rehearse the fallback with your team.
Give meetings their own setting
Public display, staff control and meeting use are three separate functions in our layouts. A meeting position sits beyond the product group with concealed storage for literature, devices and cases, so a technical or commercial follow-up never interrupts the presentation at the front.
Concept rendering
Every proposal comes with a rendering like this
You see the booth in 3D before we cut a single panel: layout, graphics, lighting and product positions, revised until it is right. Shown: a Purple concept for Requtech.
Start my Modern Day Marine conceptWalter E. Washington Convention Center · Washington
Logistics for Modern Day Marine 2027, handled
The Walter E. Washington Convention Center is a union building. A 10×10 inline with no power tools can be set by your own staff, while islands, rigging and anything larger run through Teamsters and IBEW via Freeman, the official decorator, and we staff that with our Mid-Atlantic crew. Halls A and B sit in the 473,000 square foot contiguous A–C run, each with its own dock assignment. We plan drayage at about $175 per hundredweight with a 200-pound minimum and ship to the advance warehouse to avoid direct-to-show surcharges. Your team stays at the connected Marriott Marquis or in the 7,700 rooms within walking distance, with the Mt. Vernon Square Metro stop at the front door.
Hall rules, drayage estimates and freight deadlines for this building are in our Walter E. Washington Convention Center exhibitor guide.
What Purple handles
- Exhibitor kit, Freeman service orders and dock targets
- Union labor and rigging through the official decorator
- Model fixtures and product mounts engineered to your weights
- Graphics printed in house and proofed against cleared artwork
- Freight to the advance warehouse and drayage paperwork
- Installation, dismantle and return shipping with our Mid-Atlantic crew
Timeline, counted back from move-in
- Early February 2027Design sign-off, island and rigging drawings submitted, cleared product list locked.
- February–March 2027Production in Fishkill, NY; model fixtures and graphics proofed against your approved materials.
- Week of March 22, 2027Booth ships to the Freeman advance warehouse; drayage paperwork filed.
- April 11–12, 2027Targeted move-in; Purple's Mid-Atlantic crew installs in Halls A and B and runs the pre-show checklist.
- April 13–15, 2027Show days; a Purple project manager is on call for the whole run.
- April 15–16, 2027Dismantle, equipment packed to your return plan, booth to storage or the next show.
Modern Day Marine exhibitor questions
Questions exhibitors ask us before Modern Day Marine
How much does a 20×20 at Modern Day Marine cost?
A complete 20×20 custom island lands between $50,000 and $120,000, and a 20×20 rental between $16,000 and $40,000, covering design, structure, graphics and installation. A 10×20 inline runs $7,500 to $15,000 rental or $15,000 to $45,000 custom. Send us your product list and we return a fixed quote.
Can you install at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center?
Yes. We install in Washington every season with our Mid-Atlantic crew. Islands, rigging and larger builds go through Teamsters and IBEW via Freeman, and we schedule that labor, book the dock target and level every fixture before your team arrives.
Can we rent a booth for Modern Day Marine?
Yes. Rental structures with your graphics, custom product fixtures on a rental frame, or a fully custom build are all available. Many first-time Modern Day Marine exhibitors start with a 10×10 or 10×20 rental from $3,500 and add a custom hero fixture.
When do we need to decide?
Design sign-off in early February gives a comfortable 30–45-day build and a late-March ship to the advance warehouse. Later is possible; the trade-off is choice of finishes and higher freight cost. Models and mock-ups need the earliest decision because engineering starts before graphics.
Do you handle Freeman orders and drayage?
Yes. We read the exhibitor kit, file the forms that concern the booth, order labor, power and rigging through Freeman, and manage drayage at the advance warehouse. You are copied on every deadline so nothing depends on a form you did not know about.
Get a proposal
Tell us about your Modern Day Marine booth
What happens next
- We reply within one business day with questions about your products, goals and footprint.
- You get a concept rendering and a fixed proposal, usually within a week.
- We build in 30–45 days, ship to the advance warehouse and install before the hall opens.