Weekly News & Insights: Sandy Shuts Down Some Shows

Graphic: NOAA

While the Post Office may have a slogan of “neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow will stop us,” the same doesn’t hold true for trade shows. With Hurricane Sandy bearing down on New York in a direct collision course with an arctic blast, shows scheduled for this week along the East Coast have been forced to go to Plan B.

On the Javits Center’s website, there was an advisory posted Sunday that announced New York City had ordered a mandatory evacuation of that part of the city, and only staff considered essential to storm coverage should report for duty today. They also posted a list of shows being held there this week that are affected by the storm:

The ISC East show arranged with Freeman for items that were already shipped to the Center to be stored at no cost until the rescheduled show is held (dates have not yet been announced). Exhibitors at JA New York Special Delivery were given until 10 PM Sunday night (seven hours after the show floor closed) to pack up and completely evacuate the building. Anything left behind was to be packed neatly and left in the booth until Wednesday morning.

There’s a similar story at other East Coast convention centers:

  • The Connecticut Convention Center announced the cancellation of two events.
  • At the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, the International Congress of Esthetics and Spa closed a day early on Sunday.
  • The Baltimore Convention Center announced that the Baltimore National College Fair has been postponed.

However, at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, the American Society for Clinical Pathology’s annual meeting is still on schedule for Oct. 30-Nov. 2.

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