The Marin Center Exhibit Hall is a flat-floor, 22,500 square foot exhibit facility, the largest such venue in Marin County. It plays host year round to a variety of consumer events, trade shows and banquets.
Below you will find important information which will assist you in having the best event possible.
Custodial Service
Restrooms, trash cans, recycling bins, lobbies and aisles are maintained by Marin Center staff. Exhibitors are expected to maintain their own exhibit areas during shows.
Damage to Buildings and Equipment
Any damages to the building will be billed to the user after Marin Center staff inspects the facilities following an event.
Nothing may be attached, stapled, taped or otherwise affixed to the walls or doors of the Exhibit Hall corridors, lobbies, Manzanita Room or Friends of Marin Center Conference Room.
Users and their staff are requested to treat Marin Center facilities and equipment with care during shows. Any damages to the buildings or equipment caused by users, their staff or exhibitors, will be charged to the user.
Decorative Materials
All decorations should be fireproofed. Nails, tacks, pins, etc. are not permitted for attaching decorations to building. Deliveries of such materials prior to events must be approved in advance. All decorations must be picked up and removed on the contracted move-out date.
Display Curtains/Exhibit Booths
Staff sets up and takes down display curtains owned by Marin Center. Exhibitors are not permitted to pin, staple or tape displays onto the booth curtains.
Exhibit booth set-up includes curtains, chairs and electrical power (120 volts, 500 watts). One hundred (100) 8’ x 10’ booths can be accommodated in the hall.
Dumpster Service
Users are required to rent a dumpster from Marin Sanitary Service to be located at the south end of the Exhibit Hall. Dumpster size should be discussed prior to ordering with the Marin Center Senior Events Coordinator. User is responsible for ordering the dumpster from Marin Sanitary Service which will bill each user directly. Marin Sanitary Service may be contacted at 415.456.2601. Their minimum fee is approximately $258. If the user does not make arrangements, Marin Center will deduct cost of the dumpster, plus a $25 handling fee, from the box office settlement or bill the user for dumpster and extra cleaning fees.
Multiple dumpsters may be required for some events. Locations for these dumpsters are to be determined in conjunction with the Senior Event Coordinator.
Electrical Service
A staff electrician is responsible for all electrical and lighting services.
Floor and wall outlets provide 1500-watt power sources (120 volt, single phase). Special hook-ups and ceiling drops are available. A staff electrician is responsible for installation and switching outlets on and off. Marin Center staff electrician is on duty during the entire event.
Please review Exhibit Hall map for electrical outlet information.
Equipment Inventory Available to Users
All equipment must be requested at least thirty (30) days in advance of event. All equipment will be issued on a first-requested, first-served basis.
| Quantity |
Equipment |
Cost |
| 60 |
6-foot round tables |
Free |
| 800 |
Cushioned chairs |
Free |
| 1 |
Public address system |
Free |
| 1 |
Overhead Sound System with microphone |
Free |
| 1 |
Portable Public Address system, per day |
$150 |
| 1 |
Portable Stage, per day |
$200 |
| 105 |
8-foot rectangular tables, per table/per event |
$8 |
| 20 |
6-foot rectangular tables, per table/per event |
$8 |
| |
Black velour (theatrical) curtains, 15\'92 tall, per foot/per event |
$2 |
| |
Theatrical lighting equipment, per unit |
$10 |
| |
to a maximum per day of |
$500 |
| |
Booth (8\'92x10\'92) with 500 watts, 120 volts electrical service and no curtains per booth/per day |
$20 |
| |
Booth (8\'92 x 10\'92) with curtains and electrical service, per booth/per event |
$30 |
| |
Additional power 500 watts, 120 volts per booth/per event |
$15 |
| |
Wireless Internet per event |
$150 |
Fire Code Regulations
The following City of San Rafael Fire Code Regulations applies to consumer and trade shows:
- All exit and entrance doors must be left clear at all times. An aisle the width of the doors must be left clear up to ten (10) feet in front of the exit doors. No exceptions.
- Minimum size of aisles between exhibit booths is eight (8) feet.
- Smoking is prohibited in the buildings and within twenty-five (25) feet from any doorway.
- Main lobby of Exhibit Hall may have a few exhibits, as long as pedestrian traffic is not impeded. All lobby exit doors must be left clear. All lobby exhibits are subject to approval by the Technical Coordinator : Rental client Coordinator .
- The corridor leading from the lobby to the Exhibit Hall along the entrances to the Manzanita Room cannot be used for exhibits, displays, ticket taking, seating or for any other purpose.
- No cooking of any kind may be done in the Exhibit Hall or Kitchen preparation area. Heating of food may be done with Sterno Buffet Heaters or Electric Heaters.
- No propane cookers or heaters
- No open flame of any kind
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Outdoor tents for food preparation, barbeques, and other outdoor cooking appliances are prohibited within twenty-five (25) feet of the Exhibit Hall building. Tents and cooking equipment may be placed on the black asphalt on the east side of the Exhibit Hall building or on the hard-packed surface of the Fairgrounds on the west side of the Exhibit Hall building. Fire-code and health-code compliant floor covering is required in food preparation tents.
An operational permit is required from the San Rafael Fire Department for storage and use of LPGas. Please call the San Rafael Fire Department at (415) 485-3367 thirty (30) days in advance of event for permit fee and filing information. Storage in excess of 720 lbs. of gas requires a portable fire extinguisher having a minimum capacity of 18 lbs. of dry chemical (10A:120BC) with a B:C rating.
The temporary installation of any portable equipment, especially portable cooking ovens, stoves rotisseries and similar devices must be approved thirty (30 days in advance of event by the Marin Center Technical Coordinator, Tony Taubert, at (415) 473-6399, and the San Rafael Fire Department at (415) 485-3367.
- 314.4 Fire Code. Any vehicle displayed in the Exhibit Hall needs to have battery disconnected, no locking fuel cap and no more than five (5) gallons or 1/4 tank of fuel, whichever is less.
- 7903.2.1.4 Heating, Lighting and Cooking Appliances. No person shall use, within a building or structure, any heating, lighting or cooking appliance which uses any flammable or combustible liquid.
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Floor Plans
Floor plans, including layout of booths, displays, staging, registration, ticket-taking, etc. must be submitted at least thirty (30) days prior to event. If the floor plan is not received thirty (30) days prior to event, or if changes in floor plans are made less than fourteen (14) days prior to event, additional charges will result for set-up and custodial labor fees.
Exhibitors and users who tape the floor are required to remove all tape immediately after their event. If the tape is not completely removed, the user will pay an additional cleaning and removal fee.
Food and Beverage Concessions
No exhibits of any kind are permitted within the red line perimeter of the concession’s service area.
No popcorn is permitted to be served on the premises.
Keys
Marin Center staff has keys to all facilities. They can open rooms at specified times during shows for users. Keys are not available on a loan basis to users.
Overtime
There is a $200 per one-half (1/2) hour, or any fraction thereof, fee for overtime before or after the contracted time period of 7am-1am.
Parking
All parking facilities at Marin Center are free and are to be shared equally by users, exhibitors and patrons during set-up and event days.
Any parked vehicle which is within twenty-five (25) feet of the Exhibit Hall exit doors will be towed away at the owner’s expense.
Overnight recreational vehicle parking is available only to vendors who are participating in an event at Marin Center. Parking will be on the east end of the Fairgrounds from the evening prior to the event until midnight on the last day of the event.
Parking Permits
Recreational vehicles parked on the Fairgrounds overnight for an event will be charged a parking fee to be collected by the user and remitted to the Senior Event Coordinator during the event. The fee is $20 per unit, per night. A limited number of electrical hook-ups are available. There are no water or sewage hook-ups. Permits need to be displayed on the vehicle’s windshield.
Pets
No animals are allowed in the Exhibit Hall during events except for and service animals for individuals with disabilities and dog shows. Exhibitors staying in recreational vehicles on the Fairgrounds during events must leave their pets in the vehicle unless walking their pets and exhibitors are required to clean up after their pets.
Rental Tables and Chairs
Marin Center staff will not set up or take down equipment rented from other companies, including rental tables and chairs. Users need to provide their own staff or have the rental company set up or take down tables, chairs or other equipment within the contracted time period.
Security
Arrangements for overnight security inside the Exhibit Hall must be made in advance. The Exhibit Hall alarm will not be set if there are overnight security personnel in the building. There will be a $400 per night fee to keep any overhead ceiling lights on for security purposes after 1am (1am-7am). Additional fees will be required for any overnight exterior lighting.
Set Up Days
Exhibit or trade shows utilizing more than twenty-five (25) exhibit booths will be required to rent the Exhibit Hall for a full set up day. Larger events including extensive decorating, staging, lighting, etc. will also require a full set up day.
The requirement for a set up day insures that our staff has the necessary time to meet your set up and equipment needs.
Show Equipment Delivery and Removal
All arrangements for the delivery or pick up of show equipment, including rental tables, chairs and display merchandise, should be approved in advance by the Senior Events Coordinator.
Only exhibitor vans, pickup trucks, SUV’s and passenger cars are permitted inside the Exhibit Hall to load or unload equipment. Such vehicles will be allowed inside the hall consistent with the safety of patrons and staff. Larger vehicles, including rental trucks, are not permitted inside the building; these vehicles may load or unload at the main loading doors.
Show Office
The show office in the Exhibit Hall is available to user at no additional charge.
Sign Regulations
Marin Center permits temporary signs and banners to be posted in the following manner and locations:
Directional signs to Exhibit Hall, Showcase Theater and Manzanita Room
Clear, attractive, professionally printed signs directing patrons from Civic Center Drive along the Avenue of the Flags to the rear parking lot are permitted as follows:
- A-frame type commercially made sign boards need to be 22” x 28” vertical, with text within a 22” x 26” space (1” clear at bottom of board and 1” clear at top of board). Can be put on coroplast or ecoplast. Signs are permitted from Civic Center Drive to the rear parking lot.
Marin Center will provide up to six (6) A-frame standards to affix your signs.
- Commercially made and approximately 3 x 3 feet flat plywood or poster board signs are permitted to be hung on the fairground fence on the right hand side of the road half-way down Avenue of the Flags as long as they do not obscure existing Marin Center signage.
Signage may not be hung on fences along Civic Center Drive.
- No posters, signs or banners of any type are allowed on any light poles, sign poles, light stands, trees or shrubs anywhere on the grounds.
- Plastic ties or S-hooks may be used to mount signs on the fences where permitted. No tape of any kind may be used to post signs anywhere on the grounds.
Banners
Installation of cloth or vinyl banners announcing Fairgrounds or Exhibit Hall events are permitted at the following locations:
- On the Fairground’s fence on the right-hand side of the road half-way down Avenue of the Flags.
- At other selected locations upon approval of the Senior Events Coordinator.
Banners must be affixed with zip ties, string or microfilament. Tape is not permitted. Banners must be removed as soon as event is over.
Show and Event Posters
Show and event posters will be displayed for events at Marin Center in the order they are received and depending on the availability of poster panels and display cases.
- Commercially printed posters 24” high by 20” wide may be displayed in facility display cases in the Marin Center Box Office and the Showcase Theater lobby upon approval of the Senior Events Coordinator.
All signs must be proofed and approved by the Senior Events Coordinator. Any request for additional signs, posters, banners or directional signs must be discussed and approved by Marin Center management in advance of the event. Sign posting privileges at Marin Center may be revoked at any time.
Smoking
Smoking is not permitted on Marin County property at any time. Your cooperation is appreciated.
Telephone Service
A special plug-in phone is available for users, (415) 479-2344, for $50 per event plus a charge for any long distance or toll calls. Please request this service when reviewing pre-event logistics with the Technical Coordinator. Arrangements for additional phone service must be made by users directly with the Telephone Company.
Additional Fees
Any violations of the above rules and regulations will result in additional fees to the user.
Telephone Numbers
- Event / Rental Manager Dick Daley (415) 473-5034
- Technical Coordinator Tony Taubert (415) 473-6399
- Rental Client Coordinator Sarah Tipple (415) 473-5062
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