LEWISTON — After 20 years, local businesses have the Androscoggin Business to Business Trade Show all figured out.

“I think people are cluing in to the fact that they need to interact with the show,” said Dina Jackson at the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments. “They can’t just sit there on their phones, so they are adding elements to make their booths more interactive or engaging.”

The show kicked off at 9:30 a.m Thursday with 155 local businesses occupying booths in the Androscoggin Bank Colisee. The show is sponsored by the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council.

It’s one of the premier business networking events in Central Maine, and the participants take it seriously.

From the Ramada Inn’s venerable chocolate fountain to the myriad of photograph and selfie stations, the show offers more than just handshakes and business plans.

“I think the main difference between now and 10 years ago is the interactivity,” said Paul Badeau, a former growth council employee now working for Oxford Networks. “It’s not just the business card in the bowl. It’s figuring out what you can do to encourage people to interact.”

Jen Hogan, executive vice president of Community Credit Union, said her company’s booth has gotten more elaborate each year.

“We get together once a month to brainstorm ideas for marketing, and for the trade show we always try to do something out of the box and a little crazy,” she said. “For us, this is really about visibility and being seen. People have come to expect a little craziness out of us.”

This year’s booth was built around the credit union’s YouTube channel and its “Late Late Show,” a faux evening talk show. Hogan said that B2B attendees who agreed to play one of their games for the next edition of “Late Late Show” would win a Bluetooth-powered smartphone camera remote.

Cameras were everywhere this year. Several booths had cardboard cutouts people could use in their selfies, including Gov. Paul LePage, Star Wars droids R2D2 and C3P0 at the Sun Journal booth and a cardboard Channel 13 weatherman Charlie Lopresti.

Others had more elaborate green-screen set-ups, letting attendees insert themselves into another scene. Amtrak had a set of seats from a train car set up to promote trips on the Downeaster.

It was the 20th year for the B2B, but the first year under new management. John Holden, president of the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council, said he’s attended the festival a time or two in the past.

This year was different: Holden came on board as president in January, so Thursday was his first B2B. He was the event’s master of ceremonies, wandering the floor carrying a wireless microphone. He’d come across the Colisee’s sound system every few minutes, urging attendees to get out, exchange business cards and work the floor.

“I want to see businesses doing business,” Holden said. “If I see people just sitting in their booth, I’ll tell them to go walk around.”

Pet groomer Tara Aube said it was her first year hosting a booth for her Hogan Road-based Lil’ Grooming Shop.

“It’s good exposure,” Aube said. “I’ve met a lot of people who haven’t heard of me. I’ve contacted other dog places, clinics and doggy day cares and people who make treats. So I’ll get a lot of referrals through them.”

Right next door was 17-year trade show veteran Leasa Chessy of Maine Awards on Westminster Street. She had two booths spanning an aisle Thursday — one for her sporting goods award business and another for her line of “Work Hard Play Harder” athletic wear.

“We’ve done it for years, and our business has just expanded,” she said.

Photographer Joel Bolton said he was at the trade show acting as a contractor for Google, encouraging businesses to let him record a 360-degree Google Maps walk-through tour of their operation.

“Google drives the cars all around with the cameras for Street View,” he said. “This program is like Street View for the inside, a virtual tour that moves from spot to spot in the business.”

The project is just getting started in Maine.

Muse Paintbar on Commercial Street in Portland is one of the few Maine virtual tours online on Google Maps, he said.

“There are not too many in Androscoggin County so far, but there are a couple in Portland,” he said. “We are trying to set up businesses. Only 37 percent of businesses here have claimed their Google listing. Many don’t realize it’s even there.”

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