Vision Expo East 2024 featuring newest in eyewear fashion, technology

Image Credit: AdobeStock/ramakant

This year’s Vision Expo East conference serves as a tipping point on the brink of change for The Vision Council. Being held from March 14-17 with a central location at the Javits Center, 2024 marks the last year the event will be held in New York City, and will be relocating to Orlando, Florida in 2025.¹

The Vision Council CEO Ashely Mills said that Vision Expo East’s move is in part to allow the conference to become more centralized. Currently, the conference’s parties, events, and award ceremonies are all held in several locations around New York City. In working with the Orlando Convention Center and the city’s visitor bureau, next year’s event is being organized with the intention of being more centralized.

“That’s 1 piece of the puzzle,” Mills said. “There are so many other things that we really look forward to doing differently. But the real spirit of the move was an answer to our customers’ feedback.”

Mills explained that although this move is exciting, it also comes with a bittersweet goodbye. Vision Expo East has been held in New York City since 1986 and has seen a renaissance of transformation in the eyewear industry. “We’re thrilled. It’s really going to be incredibly celebratory,” Mills said. “It’s a very commemorative event … There is certainly a feeling of nostalgia and pride.”

"Vision Expo East has been synonymous with the larger-than-life skyscrapers, innovation, intellectual curiosity and arguably the fashion capital of the western hemisphere-New York City. This year's meeting will continue that trend of elite education and grandiose opportunities in the larger-than-life exhibit hall,” stated Marc Bloomenstein, OD, FAAO, Vision Expo East’s Education Planning Committee chairman. “It is a bittersweet time with the knowledge that this is our last year at Javitz. I for one will make the most of being in the city that doesn't sleep, while I gain insight into what is trending in optometry."

The conference is hosting nearly 50 events and almost 200 sessions over its 4 days, ranging from building social media expertise and the latest in medical advancements to ribbon cuttings and anniversary exhibits. Some notable main stage events on the exhibit floor, otherwise known as The Bridge, include IMAGINEM-sponsored Flaunt the Frame, a new series highlighting fashion in eyewear, Visionaries Unveiled, a session on business strategies from sustainability, aesthetics, and hearing care experts, and the OptiCon general session, which will feature Rebecca Alexander’s, LCSW-R, MPH, experience with Usher Syndrome.¹

A full schedule of Vision Expo East’s 2024 events and sessions, which includes over 300 educational hours, are all found on the conference’s website.

“We are thrilled to share this year’s lineup of programming taking place at Vision Expo East, and use this opportunity to celebrate our time in New York before our 2025 debut in Orlando,” said Fran Pennella, vice president of Vision Expo and RX in a news release. “Year over year, we have been able to highlight industry-leading brands, technologies and thought-leaders at The Bridge, and this year will be no different. Centrally located in the center of the exhibit floor, we encourage all attendees to explore the plethora of events taking place. From fashion shows to musical performances to compelling education and career opportunities, there’s truly something for everyone.”

In addition to these events, several participating organizations are also celebrating anniversaries at this year’s Vision Expo East. Clear Vision Optical and LTD Eyewear will be celebrating 75 years, along with Coburn Technologies celebrating 70 years, among others.

“You’ll be dazzled by what you see on the show floor, but hopefully also really encouraged by the strength of the industry you’re a part of,” Mills stated.

Information sessions will be running from 7:15 am to 6:30 pm pm Friday, 7:15 am to 6 pm on Saturday, and 7:15 am to 3 pm on Sunday. Events will be held from 8 am to 8 pm on Thursday, 8:30 through midnight on Friday, 8:30 am to 5:15 pm on Saturday, and 7:15 am to 2:45 pm on Sunday.

Reference:

1. Vision Expo East 2024 unveils new main stage special events. The Vision Council. News release. Published February 29, 2024. Accessed March 11, 2024.