WORTHINGTON, Ohio—The Ohio Optometric Association (OOA) said this week that it will not hold the annual EastWest Eye Conference in October. The event, which typically draws about 1,500 industry executives from several upper Midwest states, had been scheduled for Oct. 29-31 at the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland. The association noted that it expects to hold the 2021 EastWest Eye Conference from Oct. 7-9 at the Columbus (Ohio) Convention Center. “Due to ongoing concerns related to the pandemic, the EastWest Eye Conference will unfortunately not occur in October 2020,” the OOA noted in an email announcement.

“However, EastWest has an exciting 2021 planned with EastWest Destinations, The Summer Bash on the Lake, and EastWest 2021 in our new location [in] Columbus.”

“We’re looking forward to 2021,” OOA executive director Keith Kerns told VMAIL on Tuesday. He noted that next year’s EastWest Eye Conference will be held for the first time in Columbus, after a long run at the meeting center in Cleveland.

Also in the plans for OOA in 2021 are the annual wintertime getaway at EastWest Destinations, scheduled for Feb. 18-20 at the Hyatt’s Confidante in Miami Beach, and the Summer Bash on the Lake Presented by EastWest, which is planned for June 3-5 at the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland.