Star of the North 2027 · April 22–24, 2027 · Saint Paul RiverCentre, St. Paul
Star of the North 2027 booth design & build in St. Paul
Custom and rental exhibits for dental equipment, supply and practice technology brands, built so a dentist, hygienist, assistant and office manager can all find their question inside one booth. Chair and scanner demos planned to their real footprint, graphics printed in house, and RiverCentre freight, installation and dismantle run by Purple.
- April 22–24, 2027
- Saint Paul RiverCentre
Every last fee listed upfront, in full, on paper. 3,000+ exhibitors · 10,000+ booths built · 4.9★ client rating · Since 2015
Modern dental clinic with a chair, monitor and equipment
01 Purple at Star of the North 2027
What makes Star of the North different, and how we build for it
Star of the North is the Minnesota Dental Association's annual Scientific Session, running since 1883, and it brings the whole practice to Saint Paul RiverCentre: 6,025 attendees and 247 exhibiting companies in 2026, under the 2027 theme Venture North. The exhibit hall carries its own programme. The Emerging Speakers Program runs 45-minute CE sessions at the end of aisle 500, the Dental Innovation Hub fills the Exhibit Hall Rotunda, the Buyer's Happy Hour closes Thursday and The BIG Party closes Friday, and the Exhibit Passport Game walks attendees booth to booth. Two open days, teams that shop together and a floor that stays busy until 6 pm: your booth has to be easy to enter and fast to explain.
A short, side-by-side comparison of the main options, a working demo of the chair, scanner or imaging unit, and a seat where a purchase or financing conversation can happen away from the aisle.
Instruments, consumables and handpieces they can pick up, a display model that shows how the product handles day to day, and staff who answer workflow questions without a sales script.
A readable screen for a practice-management or software walkthrough, a plain summary of setup, support and pricing, and one named contact to follow up with after the meeting.
Your team in St. Paul
Two shops, one project manager, every hall
We build in our own production shop in Fishkill, NY and our Las Vegas hub, ship to the Saint Paul RiverCentre, and install with our own project manager on the floor and vetted local labor. Predictable 30–45-day turnarounds, secure storage and pre-show QA.
Your team lands to a lit, stocked booth. You just show up.
02 Booths & pricing for Star of the North 2027
Pick a footprint. We price it as a rental, a custom build, or a hybrid.
Star of the North is a regional meeting with 247 exhibiting companies, so the floor is mostly 10×10 and 10×20 inlines, with the equipment manufacturers and distributors taking 20×20 and larger. Exhibitors here usually choose a 10×20 with one demo station, or a 20×20 island when a chair or imaging unit needs its full working envelope.
A lit counter for instruments, consumables or a handheld scanner, one backwall graphic that names the product family, and a stool for a quick conversation.
Shown: Han Song, a Purple inline booth
See 10×10 rental booths →
One equipment demo, such as a scanner or handpiece station, plus a product comparison counter and a small standing meeting point for the practice team.
Shown: NIMS Food, a Purple inline booth
See 10×20 rental booths →
A dental chair or imaging unit with operator and observer space, a supply display, a software screen and an open table under a hanging sign.
Shown: Ecotact, a Purple island exhibit
See 20×20 rental booths →
Several operating units, separate zones for equipment, everyday products and practice services, a private meeting room and concealed sample storage.
Shown: Trillium, a Purple island exhibit
See 20×30 rental booths →In Purple's price
- Design and a 3D rendering, revised until it is right
- Structure, printed graphics, counters and storage as specified
- Lighting and power distribution inside the booth
- Installation and dismantle, with our project manager on the floor
- Every show-service order and deadline tracked for you
Billed by the show and its contractor
- Booth space (paid to the organizer)
- Material handling / drayage
- Electrical service, internet and rigging
- Booth cleaning and any union labor the venue requires
We estimate every one of these on your proposal, so the total is on paper before you sign.
All-in 2026 ranges for design, structure, graphics, installation and dismantle. 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 Star of the North 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 reply within one business day and send a rendering and a fixed proposal, usually within a week. No charge.
03 Built by Purple
Booths we have designed, built and installed
Case study · Pixee Medical
Pixee Medical at medical technology congress
A focused, demo-first booth for augmented-reality surgical guidance, built so every visitor could try the technology while traffic kept moving.
Read the Pixee Medical case study All case studies →“We were very happy with the experience and with the support provided throughout the project. The booth looked great, the coordination process was smooth, and everything was handled professionally, which made the event much easier for our team.”
Miriam Valdes, Communications Manager, INdermal · more client reviews
Trusted by exhibitors including
04 Designing for dental equipment, supply and practice technology brands at Star of the North
Four things we get right for Star of the North exhibitors
1Plan the chair to its real envelope
A dental chair, scanner or imaging system needs its operator, its observer and its cable routing drawn into the plan, not just its footprint. We lay out the full working envelope, hide power and data runs in the structure and add a supporting screen so a demo stays visible without pulling a crowd into the aisle.
2Keep the open side open
Practice teams arrive together and leave together. We keep the entry wide, set the host slightly to one side and avoid a long reception counter that turns the frontage into a gate. One clear product-family message from the aisle tells a hygienist, assistant or dentist where to start.
Make every demo repeatable
We build a defined sample set, reset storage and a fixed staff position into each station, with a separate replenishment area for giveaways and Passport Game stamps. The demo surface stays clear during the Buyer's Happy Hour rush and a representative can restock without interrupting a conversation.
Give each role a next step
Instruments and consumables sit on a lit counter arranged by product family with labels that stay visible. Software runs on a screen a small group can read. A shared comparison card records what the team looked at, so your follow-up matches the practice's actual question.
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 Prestige Pack.
Start my Star of the North concept05 Saint Paul RiverCentre · St. Paul
Logistics for Star of the North 2027, handled
Saint Paul RiverCentre sits in downtown St. Paul at 175 West Kellogg Boulevard, a short walk from the downtown hotels, and freight goes through its loading dock rather than the guest entrance. The exhibit hall is open Thursday 10 am to 6 pm and Friday 9 am to 6 pm, and closed Saturday while the meeting continues, so dismantle starts Friday evening. We read the Star of the North exhibitor kit, place the venue service orders for electrical, internet and compressed air, book the dock time, ship your booth to the advance warehouse and put our own project manager on the floor with local labor for installation and dismantle. Your team flies in, walks up and starts talking.
What Purple handles
- Exhibitor kit, service orders and dock booking at RiverCentre
- Chair, scanner and imaging demo layouts with power and data routing
- Graphics and product fixtures printed and built in house
- Freight to the advance warehouse and drayage paperwork
- Installation, dismantle and return shipping with our on-site project manager
- A reusable kit sized for your other regional dental meetings
Timeline, counted back from move-in
- Early February 2027Design sign-off, equipment specs locked, graphics briefed.
- February to mid-March 2027Production in Fishkill, NY; graphics proofed against your brand files and product photography.
- Late March 2027Booth and demo fixtures ship to the St. Paul advance warehouse; service orders placed.
- Move-in, before the Thursday openingPurple's crew installs at RiverCentre, sets equipment and runs the pre-show checklist ahead of the 10 am Thursday opening.
- April 22–23, 2027Exhibit hall open; a Purple project manager is on call through the Buyer's Happy Hour and The BIG Party.
- April 23–24, 2027Dismantle after the Friday close, equipment packed to your return plan, booth to storage or the next dental meeting.
Star of the North exhibitor questions
Questions exhibitors ask us before Star of the North
How much does a Star of the North booth cost?
A complete 10×10 rental runs $3,500 to $8,000, a 10×20 rental $7,500 to $15,000, and a 20×20 custom island $50,000 to $120,000, covering design, structure, graphics and installation. A working chair or imaging unit adds power and floor space; send us the spec sheet and we return a fixed quote.
Can you install at Saint Paul RiverCentre?
Yes. We book the dock time, ship to the advance warehouse, and our project manager runs installation with local labor before the hall opens Thursday at 10 am. Dismantle starts after the Friday 6 pm close, so your team can attend Saturday sessions without watching the crates.
Can we rent a booth for Star of the North?
Yes. Rental structures with your graphics, custom demo counters or a mix of the two are all available. Many regional dental exhibitors run a rental frame with custom product fixtures, then reuse the same fixtures at their other dental meetings through the year.
When do we need to decide?
Design sign-off in early February 2027 gives a comfortable 30 to 45 day build and a late-March ship to St. Paul. We can move faster than that; the trade-off is fewer material choices and higher freight cost. Booth number and equipment list first, drawings within a week.
Do you handle the exhibitor paperwork and drayage?
We read the Minnesota Dental Association exhibitor kit, file the forms that concern the booth, order electrical, internet and compressed air from the venue, and manage drayage and material handling. You are copied on every deadline and never chase a form yourself.
Before you sign with anyone
Five questions to ask any exhibit builder for Star of the North:
- Is every fee on the proposal, including what the show contractor bills?
- Who builds the booth: your own shop or a subcontractor?
- Will your project manager be on the floor for install and dismantle?
- What exactly is in the rental, and what is billed by the show?
- Where does the booth go after the show, and what does storage cost?
Common situations
Already own a booth? We refresh the graphics, repair what is worn, ship it, install it and store it between shows. You keep the structure you paid for.
Exhibiting from outside the US? We are your team on the ground: freight to the advance warehouse, show-service orders, installation and storage, with one project manager answering your emails in your time zone.
Short on time? A rental with your graphics can be ready in two to three weeks. We tell you on the first call what is realistic for your date.
Get a proposal
Tell us about your Star of the North 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. Every last fee listed upfront, in full, on paper.
- We build in 30–45 days, ship to the advance warehouse and install before the hall opens.