Expo East marches on

The bright blue skies may have hinted at the arrival of spring but the bitter winds and evening snowfalls that battered Manhattan during Vision Expo East last month was a reminder to exhibition goers that winter was not finished with New York just yet.

Weather aside, Vision Expo East remains, at least in this Optician writer’s view, as the premier destination for an optical trade show. Trips to Paris and Milan sound glamorous, but 45-minute journeys from the centre of the cities to faceless industrial parks tend to lessen the impact of eyewear high fashion.

The Hell’s Kitchen location of the Jacob K Javits Convention centre makes the show an authentic New York experience. Approach the exhibition from uptown and you can take in Central Park and the chic Upper West Side. Arrive from the east and the bright lights of Times Square await. Making the journey from downtown allows you to walk the Chelsea Highline park, admiring Zaha Hadid architecture and traditional red brick buildings. Whatever way you arrive, you tend to be in a good frame of mind when you enter the exhibition.