Amy Walling, owner of The Marketing Company, convinced her client, Impression Printing, to attend the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber's SchmoozaPalooza event last spring.

Impression Printing didn't regret it.

"I've been going to Schmooza for a while now, and recently, I opened my own marketing company. I was at Schmooza last spring with my client, and I think they really understood the value of the productive networking of Schmooza and the good time that everyone was having," says Walling. "For their first time out, they saw the importance of that kind of networking event. I think the exposure of being tied to such a valued partner like the chamber kicks it up a notch."

Part networking, part trade show, part party, the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber's upcoming SchmoozaPalooza event will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Oct. 27 at State Fair Park's Cox Pavilion. Along with food, drinks and local business booths, the event also offers live music, door prizes and fun games for participants.

"Schmooza is a really fun networking event and trade show, and it's an interactive and fun way to make new business connections," says Cynthia Reid, vice president of marketing and communications at the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber. "This is the second year for SchmoozaPalooza, and we have two a year. We want to keep it a little bit 'weird.' We want to keep it fun."

The first year, Schmooza boasted of exhibitors, but also a cakewalk. The game set the tone for events to follow, and exhibitors began finding new and wild ways to attract attention, such as allowing visitors to smash computers or to pet exotic animals.

"We grew by 500 participants in the second show from how many attended the first," Reid says. "We're expecting about 1,000 this year."

More than 60 exhibitors are on board for the October SchmoozaPalooza, and local band Horseshoe Road will perform live.

Walling says of the numerous events businesses can attend, Schmooza is on the top of her list.

"It's one of those things where you could attend a breakfast, luncheon or business after hours every day, but Schmooza is one of the events that everyone looks forward to," she says.

SchmoozaPalooza is $10 per person, which includes one drink ticket. It is open to the public, but only chamber members can exhibit.