Groingrinder, As artists, this is a tax-deductable business trip. Many of us enter the art shows, sell prints in the dealer's room or print shop, watch and photograph the Masquerade (people moving in costume). For those of us in the games industry or other entertainment fields, it is vital to see the demos, catch up on gossip, eyeball the competitors' offerings, etc.. If we also happen to enjoy our work? I have been audited twice, and once I provided the fliers listing my name as guest, and the maps of the dealer's rooms, and programming schedules, the IRS agents had no trouble with the fact that these are trade shows as much as they are conventions for the fans. Part of being professional is being involved. Of course, being professional means that one can't just use the trip as an excuse to party. An art director once came up to me while I was wearing full medieval costume (REAL Gothic), after a couple of minutes of chatting, I pulled my business cards out of my beaded belt pouch. :) I've also lugged a full size computer to too many conventions to name, including out of the country. Giving hands-on animation workshops has meant gathering 6-7 computers ahead of time, too. This is work. Talking all day and half the night is work, too. OTOH, what else would we rather be doing? Note: save all relevant pieces of paper if you do write something like this off on your taxes. Getting audited is no fun, but it would be worse without evidence. Carolly