KidScreen Summit has grown from a small gathering into a place where important buyers and players gather for panels, presentations, pitches and chats. Unless noted, photo credit: Tonya De Vorchik Photography.

In just eight years, the KidScreen Summit has grown from a small gathering in Los Angeles of kids programming and licensing people primarily from North America to a must-attend event in New York City offering the go-to people in the business of kids entertainment with unmatched access for seasoned and fledgling content providers from around the world.

Held this year from Feb. 7-9, at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers, this pitching and networking fest, organized by Brunico Communications, has bypassed pretty much all the other animation/kids related markets and shows, except for MIPCOM and MIPTV, but makes the access so much easier in an intimate setting. There were 1,367 attendees, 489 from outside the U.S. and Canada from 36 different countries.

Not only can you hear some of the most important buyers and players in the business on panels and presentations, you can book pitch and informal chat sessions with broadcasters and studio heads and have many networking times spread throughout each day, giving you ample time to bump into each other.

Exhibitors in the Summit Lounge, like Copernicus Studios, saw plenty of traffic with the registration desk held in the same area, as well as continental breakfasts, coffee breaks and buffet lunches for delegates. Photo credit: Sarah Baisley.

Let me repeat this. You could have booked a pitch session at this Summit with the likes of Linda Simensky of PBS, Carole Bonneau of TELETOON, Julien Borde of France 3, Anne Gilchrist of BBC Children's or Frank Dietz of Super RTL, amongst many other broadcaster buyers.

Utilizing KidScreen's MyEvent tool allows you to perform detailed searches on the delegate list. You may use it to search for individuals or companies you'd like to meet with, send emails to set up appointments and check out their photos to find out what they look like so you can spot them more easily onsite.

MyEvent tool also enables you to sign up for panels and sessions and maintains a planner calendar for you to keep track of your choices. The workshop leaders reference this to see who has signed up for their classes so they might customize the curriculum according to the attendees.

Workshops this year included: Piecing Together Financing, Emerging Media FAQ, The Art of the Pitch, Working the Licensing Legs, Deconstructing the Creative Process and Master of Negotiation.

Designated meeting points, beyond the hotel's lounges and restaurants included:

• Marathon Meeting Point in the Foyer outside the Summit Lounge

• Registration desk in the Summit Lounge (Empire East)

• Coffee Stations in the Summit Lounge (Empire East)

• Entrance to the Nicktoons Network Lounge (Metropolitan West)

After a flood and fire, the Nicktoons Network Lounge was cleaned up in time for the network's networking party where people shared their experiences and a few drinks to calm the nerves.

Well, the Nicktoons Network Lounge became unavailable the first day due to a flood and fire and in the hotel that startled many attendees right at the start of the Summit. When a water pipe burst on the 29^th floor, the water rushed down a chute to flood the Nick lounge. As workmen tried to stop the break, sparks from their welding equipment touched off a fire that sent smoke throughout many floors of the hotel. Guests had to be evacuated at 3:00 in the morning onto the cold NYC streets where the temperature registered barely eight degrees Fahrenheit. Many had smoke damage to their clothes and found the experience quite unnerving.