In just a few short weeks, Vision Expo West (VEW) returns to Las Vegas — the Entertainment Capital of the World. Designed for optometrists, opticians, practice managers and frame buyers, this year's VEW promises a hearty mix of education, products, and social activities, guaranteeing attendees will leave this four-day event chock full of great ideas and innovations for their own practices.
Here's a preview of some of this year's education, networking and exhibit hall highlights.
Education
VEW 2016 will feature more than 320 hours of education in a wide variety of topics, from ocular disease, diagnosis and treatment, contact lenses, therapeutics, imaging technologies and much more. New educational tracks include the Scleral Lens Track that provides five hours of comprehensive discussion of the fitting and evaluation of scleral contact lenses, and the CAB Chairman Top Picks educational track.
This year's VEW is also offering two free educational tracks, both held on Wednesday, September 14th. The Ocular Surface Disease and Wellness Symposium offers three hours of free education and gives participants expertise in recognizing dry eye diseases. And the free Global Contact Lens Forum provides insight into current issues facing contact lens practitioners with four free hours of education available.
VEW 2017's education also features specialty programs that tackle trending industry topics. New specialty programs for this year's VEW include the Vision Series, Business Solutions Highlights, Best of ODs on Facebook, Corcoran Coding Academy, and Lightning Rounds.
And VEW is also introducing a brand new learning concept at this year's conference — Pop-Up Talks. Held in lounge-style settings, the talks will host a variety of topics from eyewear trends to information specifically for young professionals.
Networking
With a setting like Las Vegas, you know there will be plenty of opportunities for networking every evening!
VEW celebrates its opening night on Thursday, September 15th with a concert by Bad Habits, the "Eye Docs of Rock" at the Hard Rock Cafe. And on Friday night is the ever-popular ODs on Facebook Party at The Venetian Hotel's TAO Nightclub.
And if you're looking for a daytime social excursion, the 9th annual Prevent Blindness Swing Fore Sight golf tournament will take place Thursday, September 15th at the Spanish Trail Country Club.
Exhibit Hall
Everyone knows the Exhibit Hall at VEW is always massive, and this year's is sure not to disappoint with more than five football fields worth of exhibit space featuring the latest and greatest in frames, lenses, medical equipment, and professional services.
This year's Exhibit Hall is broken down into different pavilions to help attendees find what they are looking for, such as the Lenses & Processing Technology Pavilion, the Medical & Scientific Pavilion, Eyewear & Accessories and the Low Vision Pavilion.
Additionally, the Exhibit Hall features The Galleria, which showcases high-fashion product lines from all over the globe in a trendy, boutique-like setting. And The Suites at the nearby Venetian Hotel offers VEW attendees access to exclusive eyewear launches, licenses and collections.
Here's a look at just a few of the companies planning new product launches at VEW 2016:
Coburn Technologies will introduce its enhanced lens edger, the HPE 8000X, at VEW 2016. In addition, visitors may enter a chance to win a cruise by watching an edging or diagnostics system demo (excluding lensmeters) or a free 3-month supply of blocks and pads with an edger purchase.
Nouveau Eyewear plans to launch its My Little Pony prescription eyewear collection for girls at VEW 2016. Sized for girls ages 4 and up, every My Little Pony frame mixes sophisticated style with the unique look and magical personality of these world-famous ponies. In additional, Nouveau is offering a "Buy 20, Get 20 Frames or Rx Sunglasses Free" promotion for attendees who open a new account at VEW, as well as bonus cash back and free Starbucks gift card promotions.
M&S Technologies will be showcasing its recently-launched new dynamic interface with the Topcon CV-5000S Computerized Refraction System. The interface will reportedly be sold as modules with various tests and functions from the Smart System 20/20 software in each module, as well as a fully-loaded module of the entire Smart System 20/20.
Zimco Optics will return to VEW this year to celebrate its recent brand expansion with new styles in almost every collection. The company currently manufactures eleven unique collections, including two licensed brands — Harve Bernard® and English Laundry Eyewear™.
Morel Eyewear will round out its Nomad collection with a second notable release inspired by five new cities at VEW — Tendo (Japan), Seoul (South Korea), Jaipur (India), Cape Town (South Africa) and Long Beach (California, USA). This second release features frames for both men and women in a variety of colors, prints and material combinations.
FoxFire Systems Group recently launched FoxFire Practice Management 4.0 — a comprehensive practice management system on a fully streamlined, user-friendly interface. The software reportedly manages complete patient demographics, patient insurance, scheduling, optical management, lab orders and point-of-sale processes.
Chlogan Eyewear will launch its eyewear collection for the Limited TOO girl's lifestyle brand for kids, pre-teens and tween girls. A recognized and loved brand of millennial moms, Limited TOO girls are fashionable, energetic, active and confident.
Revolution Eyewear will also be on-hand at VEW 2016, showcasing the nine new styles for men and women in multiple colorways for its new Fall 2016 collection. Every frame includes a polarized polycarbonate magnetic clip. Additionally, Revolution will offer attendees a $200 marketing allowance in the form of an AMEX gift card when they purchase any 12 Revolution Eyewear models at VEW, September 15-17.
And Kenmark Eyewear will be raffling off a Lilly Pulitzer cruiser at VEW this year! Attendees can register to win on all three days of the exhibit hall, and the winner will be announced after the show.
Vision Expo West takes place September 14-17, 2016 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas. For more information, visit west.visionexpo.com.
Photos courtesy Vision Expo West