Random Thoughts From the Annual Great Lakes Fruit and Vegetable Expo
February 7, 2023 Having worked for several trade publications the last 25 years, covered the Cleveland Browns for three seasons in the early 1990s, and bucket-listed as many MLB parks as possible (42 at the moment), I’ve been fortunate enough to visit almost every major city in the U.S. and quite a few mid-size ones as well.
Grand Rapids, MI, can play with any of them. Certainly from a downtown perspective. And definitely at Christmastime.
Between Great Lakes Expo (GLEXPO ) and a meeting of the International Fruit Tree Association (IFTA), this was my third trip — all business — to Grand Rapids. I had been somewhat stunned upon seeing the city for the first time in 2019 (right before the lockdowns ended my travels for 18 months), and I’ve now come to look forward to the visit, which I get to do again this month for IFTA.
I always leave the Western Michigan city wishing I could have shared the experience with family and friends. It’s that cool, with its restaurant and craft beer scene, not to mention the Amway Grand Plaza (my favorite hotel) and Rosa Parks Circle ice rink, both of which embody the holiday spirit.
Definitely cool … but to my surprise not always frigid and snowy apparently. This time around, temperatures ranged in the upper 30s, with no precipitation. No one seemed to mind. We’ll see what it’s like over Valentine’s Day week for IFTA. I’m still thawing out from those orchard tours in 2019.
Quick Response Codes
If QR codes were snowflakes — squint hard enough, and they kind of look like black ones — we’d still be buried inside the DeVos Place Convention Center. They were EVERYWHERE at the Great Lakes Expo. Almost every presenter included a handful of QR codes in his or her PowerPoint presentation. Almost every poster featured at least one. Exhibitors on the trade show floor used QR codes to swap information with attendees.
If you’re in the dark about QR codes, don’t feel bad. I had only used one for the first time, coincidentally, exactly a year earlier during the GLEXPO trip. One of those many excellent Grand Rapids craft beer bars, HopCat, displayed its menu via QR code. I was caught off guard at first, but, assuming you have a smartphone in hand, it doesn’t take long to figure out how easy and convenient they are to use.
Invented in 1994, QR codes needed a pandemic to really take off. Restaurants were at the forefront. Trade shows seem to have followed. This publication uses them. They’re here to stay, and with good reason.
Of course, the best part of kicking off the winter conference season is getting to speak face-to-face with readers like you. We missed doing that for much of the last three years, but we get to do it again this month at the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention in Hershey, PA, and then back in Grand Rapids for IFTA. Until then, let’s hope for good weather … and even better wifi.
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