If you've ever attended the annual Surfaces extravaganza, you know what a beehive of activity the event can be. And the action doesn't stop outside the friendly confines of the Sands Convention & Expo Center. New relationships established; longstanding ones renewed. Special events. Awards ceremonies. Maybe even a few spare moments to take in some of the attractions that make Las Vegas such a popular destination for so many.

Without a doubt Surfaces is a cornucopia of sights and sounds.

Even through a medium as immediate and interactive as the Internet, it's impossible to capture and exhaustively detail the full Surfaces experience. But if nothing else, we can give you a taste -- in words and pictures -- of the many and varied happenings that make Surfaces the floor covering industry's premier trade event.

We’ll be adding more sights of Surfaces as they happen. So, check this story item frequently for the late-breaking updates.

It's all about floors...well, almost all floors. Here, a trio of models who walked the runway to showcase Witex's new Country Collection laminate line flank company President and CEO Ulrich Windmoeller during a distributor meeting Tuesday night.

Show attendees line up on the lower level of the Sands Expo Center early Wednesday morning to register for Surfaces and pick up the requisite identification badges.

At Capitol Adhesives’ booth, Jeff Johnson sets up his equipment for his next spray installation demo.

During the course of browsing the booths, NFT columnist Jim Lee peruses some of Custom Building Products’ newest lines.

A veritable sea of humanity swims through the Shaw Industries exhibit.

The booths on the lower-level showroom floor, traditionally the venue for some of the newest and most unusual products at Surfaces, are seeing business traffic early and often.

Phil Johnson (right), NFT's group publisher, congratulates Witex CEO Ulrich Windmoeller on his company's latest product launch.

Showgoers with a need for speed made it their priority to check out the Domco Azrock racing team exhibit.

Laser Products Industries’ Dan Louis demonstrates the operation of the SL-24 Laser Square.

Pre-prepared jobsite vignettes for the WFCA’s National Installation Contest, which is co-sponsored by Floor Covering Installer and National Floor Trends magazines, await the contestants' arrival on Thursday. Participants in the competition spent most of Wednesday’s session undergoing an extensive written examination of their installation knowledge and skills.

Visitors ponder an installation demonstration at the Nairn booth.

Finalist Fred Chastain Jr. lines things up before making his cut during the WFCA’s National Installation Contest.

Vitek’s laser engraving system pays attention to detail, as the Duke will attest.

The WFCA’s National Installation Contest enters its second day of competition.

David Hunt, one of the judges of the Installation Contest, fields questions from onlookers.

Members of the American Flamenco Theater draw the attention of show-goers by cutting a rug, figuratively speaking, on a laminate installation at the Bruce Laminate Floors’ exhibit.

Despite what meets the eye, Pergo laminate floors are not capable of suspending the Laws of Gravity.

Visitors to 3M’s booth did their best to “lay a patch” on a miniature racecourse covered in a carpet treated with Scotchgard Protection and Stain Release. No one succeeded in leaving so much as tire tracks behind.

Surfaces attendees went nuts over Bruce Hardwood’s mascot.