East Meets West Expo rescheduled for November

After being postponed to allow utility workers to use Robarts Arena as a staging site after Hurricane Irma, a new date has been set for the 2017 East Meets West Regional Business Expo.

The new date is 4:30 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 28 at Robarts Arena, 3000 Ringling Boulevard.

The Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce and the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance have teamed up for the last nine years to create the trade show for their members to show off their business and network from the east to the west.

An estimated 750 people are expected to attend this year, much like past years. About eight restaurants will offer bite-size samplings, and there will be wine and cash bars. The first 250 guests will receive goodie bags. The venue can hold 100 booths. Last year, the expo was filled to over capacity Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce President Gail Loefgren said.

“My favorite part is it’s really an opportunity for businesses to showcase what they’re really about,”  LWRBA Executive Director Heather Kasten said. “We do a lot of networking things, luncheons, but what’s great about the expo is that businesses get to put on a show and display products or services. It’s an opportunity to leave that night with some great leads to follow up on.”

In keeping with the raffle variation, attendees this year will have the chance to be entered into a raffle for two tickets on Southwest Airlines to anywhere in the United States. Attendees will have passport wheels, and if they visit every booth, they will be entered in the drawing, Kasten said.