Mask or Not, the Show Must Go On!

Every day we are closer and closer to normal, at least a new form of normal. Masks are going down everywhere and with that Show Season is about to be in full swing. We kicked off three weeks ago at The Glass TEXpo in San Antonio, Texas. Thank you to those who attended and exhibited, great to see you all. All things considered, the show was successful, Texas mask mandate was removed for fully vaccinated persons, allowing a reprieve while exploring the city. The exhibition itself followed CDC guidelines for large indoor gatherings; each booth was given sanitizer, disinfectant spray, and there were many sanitizing stations throughout the hall floors. Inside visitors were asked to wear masks, and for the most part everyone was happy to follow the rules.

With the first pandemic show experience in the books, let’s get pumped to get “Back to Business. Back to GlassBuild.”! Given my personal experience last month, and knowing how the NGA truly cares for our safety (without us, there is no NGA), I’m confident anything learned from last event will be used to improve our next experience. That next big experience is GlassBuild America, held in the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia. Only a quarter away, Sept. 13-15. Rooms are booking quickly as preregistration numbers show strong signs of pent-up demand.

Understandably, some will be uncomfortable heading to the largest glass show in the U.S., and you can still be part of the event by following the NGA, GANA, and your favorite partners’ social channels before, and even during, the event. Go to www.glassbuildamerica.com to register, see who is exhibiting, make your wish lists, and of course see what the NGA is doing to make this a safe and successful event. I’m excited this year’s event starts on a Monday, giving attendees and exhibitors extra time the week of the event to begin the real work; follow ups.

After GlassBuild our industry’s international exhibition is moving forward with Vitrum in Milan, Italy. Dates set a few weeks after GlassBuild America, Oct. 5-8. What is most exciting about this year’s event, it is the jump start for 2022, officially the UN’s Year of Glass! If you’ve never been to Vitrum, I highly recommend seeing what this show has to offer at some point in your career. Many top equipment and processing solutions are manufactured in Italy, a nation with a long history in glass. This event also showing signs of pent-up demand. They’re planning a lot of special things, can’t give away any secrets, but stay up to date here.

The Millennial Shout-Out goes to #glassmagazinenga. If you love architecture and glass, they are a must follow!