Four days, one closed buying show
The Do it Best Corp. Fall Market takes the Indiana Convention Center at 100 South Capitol Avenue from September 25 to 28, 2026. The venue forecasts 12,000 attendees. The market’s own site counts 1,200+ vendors, 9,300+ attendees, 566,000+ square feet of market floor and 75 learning sessions.
A partner or spouse travelling with a market member holds four days in Indianapolis while the show runs. That is the group product a tour operator can build here. Registration and hotel booking both route through the market’s own system.
The shape of the four days
Friday 25 September is the arrival day. The programme opens with a Power Preview from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Parking Lot B. An LBM Industry Update runs in the 500 Ballroom with lunch served at 11:45 a.m. The Market Kickoff takes the Sagamore Ballroom at 3:15 p.m., and the Market Mixer runs on the market floor from 4 to 5:30 p.m.
Saturday 26 September carries the only full floor day with no evening programme. Breakfast is served 6 to 7:30 a.m. in the Wabash Ballroom, ahead of the Merchandising Preview at 7:30 a.m. The floor runs 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday 27 September opens the floor from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Annual Shareholders’ Meeting and CEO Address takes the Sagamore Ballroom and 500 Ballroom from 5 to 7 p.m., and the rebate distribution ends at 6:30 p.m.
Monday 28 September closes the floor at noon. Vendors must staff their booths by 8 a.m. on Sunday and Monday, and the market names 7 to 8 a.m. on both mornings Quiet Hour for dealers.
Day one: the core on foot
Downtown Indianapolis holds 7,100 hotel rooms, 200 restaurants within walking distance of the centre and 4,700 rooms connected to the building by skywalk. The skywalks lock down around 11 p.m. and reopen around 6 a.m.
Monument Circle is the first stop. The Soldiers and Sailors Monument at 1 Monument Circle was completed in 1902 and stands 284 feet 6 inches high. The observation level takes 330 steps or an elevator, and adult admission is $10. Visit Indy runs a nightly light and sound presentation on the circle, Shining A Light, set to an original Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra score.
Visit Indy reports that Indianapolis devotes more acreage than any other U.S. city to honouring the nation’s fallen, and ranks second only to Washington, DC in the number of war memorials. The Indiana Repertory Theatre at 140 West Washington Street, the Indianapolis Artsgarden at 110 West Washington Street, the Eiteljorg Museum at 500 West Washington Street and the Indiana State Museum at 650 West Washington Street all sit along that downtown axis.
The walkable districts
The Indianapolis Cultural Trail runs ten miles as an urban greenway and links six cultural districts to the convention district. Walking and bicycle tours run on request from the trail office at 132 West Walnut Street.
Massachusetts Avenue angles northwest from downtown. Julian Opie’s Ann Dancing stands at 401 Massachusetts Avenue, the Athenaeum at 401 East Michigan Street and the Old National Centre at 502 North New Jersey Street. The Bottleworks District closes the north end of the street, with the Bottleworks Hotel at 850 Massachusetts Avenue.
Gainbridge Fieldhouse stands at 125 South Pennsylvania Street. The Eiteljorg Museum, the Indiana State Museum and the JW Marriott sit inside White River State Park, and the Indianapolis Zoo stands at 1200 West Washington Street.
The one day trip
Hamilton County sits 17 driving miles from downtown on Visit Indy’s day-trip list. Conner Prairie in Fishers is the anchor. The site runs 1,046 acres, holds Smithsonian affiliation, and opens 1836 Prairietown, the Treetop Outpost treehouse and the 1859 Balloon Voyage that lifts riders over 350 feet. A new Museum Experience Center added indoor exhibits in April 2026.
The same county holds Carmel’s Arts & Design District and the Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts. Visit Indy puts Columbus and Nashville/Brown County at 45 miles, Bloomington at 53 and Hendricks County at 13.
Steering clear of the show peaks
Two days carry the movement. Friday handles arrival, the supplier lunch, the 3:15 p.m. kickoff and the 4 to 5:30 p.m. mixer. Monday handles the noon floor close.
Put the day trip on Saturday 26 September. That floor day holds no evening programme, so the group can leave after the 6 to 7:30 a.m. breakfast service and return before the 5 p.m. close.
Keep the downtown walks for Friday afternoon and Sunday morning. Friday afternoon sits between the kickoff and the mixer. Sunday morning sits inside the Quiet Hour.
The market runs a free shuttle from seven hotels, on a head of about 30 minutes, with pick-up at the entrance near the Maryland Street Canopy across from the Westin. Service runs 7 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Friday, 5:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Saturday, 6:30 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. Sunday and 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday. The Monday window binds a departure.
What to write into the file
The housing system lists 22 hotels with a distance band each and tells guests not to call the properties directly. Block rates sit behind a login. A group that wants the published block rate books through the market, and a group that books elsewhere takes the open-market rate.
The venue puts Indianapolis International Airport 15 minutes away. The market publishes its own dates through 2028: spring 2027 runs 5 to 7 March in Orlando, Fall 2027 runs 10 to 13 September in Indianapolis, spring 2028 runs 24 to 26 March in New Orleans, and Fall 2028 runs 8 to 11 September in Indianapolis.
A four-night partner itinerary therefore reads as one arrival day, one day trip, two downtown days and a Monday departure before 2:30 p.m.