Orange County Convention Center gears up for comeback after canceled conventions last year

Orange County Convention Center gears up for upcoming events

After serving as COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites, the Orange County Convention Center is ready to welcome back big events.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Officials at the Orange County Convention Center say, starting in June, their normal stream of conventions will be coming back to Central Florida. That's good news for local business owners.

Mango’s Night Club opened for the first time since the pandemic started. The owner of Mangos, Joshua Wallack, says the club will officially reopen in June. On Sunday the nightclub had a private party, but customers there weren't the only ones dancing with joy. Over at the ICEBAR Orlando, owner Thomas Kerr says he’s getting lots of advanced bookings.

"Overwhelming! I get choked up when I think about where we were and where we’re at right now. We are in so much better position now."

It's an upbeat feeling for Kerr and business owners in Orlando's tourist district.

Orange County Convention Center Executive Director Mark Tester says that's when they'll be back to hosting a stream of regular conventions.

"We have about 15 events scheduled for the month of June. The first week, we actually have Vision Expo east at 6,000 attendees."

(Orange County)

Even though the convention center has been open since July 2020, 78 shows were canceled last year. But out of that, 59 rescheduled and there are also new bookings, like the Vision Expo in June.

"That’s actually an event that we will take from New York City’s Javits Convention Center cause they weren’t able to reopen fast enough."

He says the Vision Expo wasn't the only new show to relocate here.

"We’ve been able to get a total of 14-15 trade shows and conventions, and helped make our calendar so much better for the remainder of the year."

And with those conventions, many visitors will be lining up looking for entertainment.

At the ICEBAR, Thomas says he’s busy blocking out dates.

"The phones are ringing pretty heavily for the fall and early 2022."

The Orange County Convention Center plans to hire around 150 people for part-time work. There will also be some full-time positions available with benefits later this year.

Log on to: https://www.occc.net/about-us-employment

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