CURRENTS NEW & NOTEWORTHYTHIRD TIME’S THE CHARM: KEY DETAILS
The past two years were good, but this year is the fi r s t c h a n c e t o b e t r u ly great, says Larry
Berryman, show manager of the Progressive Insurance Miami International Boat Show, which
moved to Virginia Key with an all-new setup in 2016. “We were able to pull the show off on a
completely unknown format, an unknown area,” he says. “Last ye a r, w e w er e a ble t o d i al
it in. This year, we’re giving, I think, the best platform.” That includes having plenty of parking,
shuttles running regularly and the new VIP area, which he hopes will entice even more luxury-
m i n d e d at t en d e e s. “ It w i l l b e i n l i n e w it h a h igh-end nightclub or VIP lounge that you’d
fi nd in South Florida,” Berryman says. “It won’t just be all-you-can-eat burgers and hot dogs.”
“This will be great for them, for people
who wouldn’t traditionally go to a sailboat
show, but who are wanting to take a look.”
Meanwhile, across town, Informa Exhi-
bitions will put on the Miami Yacht Show
on Collins Avenue. Informa is the same
company that recently acquired the Fort
Lauderdale International Boat Show and
installed new signs and facilities there
this past November.
“A lot of the signage that we used at
FLIBS, you will recognize,” says Mary
Bender, Informa’s vice president of mar-
keting. “And we’ll have the new fi berglass
docks, which are great.”
Another new element will be transpor-
tation from Collins Avenue to the Miami
Design District, where the Watches and
Wonders exhibition of luxury timepieces,
postwar vintage sports cars and supercars
will be held in the city for the fi rst time.
“The other great thing they’re doing is a
virtual-reality segment where you can navi-
gate the waters with a chronometer,” Bend-
er says. “We’ll have that virtual-reality sys-
tem in our VIP lounge at Collins Avenue.”A NEW VIRTUAL-
REALITY SEGMENT
WILL LET COLLINS
AVENUE SHOPPERS
NAVIGATE THE
WATERS WITH A
CHRONOMETER.Virginia
Key
SHOP WITH A VIEW38YACHTINGFE BRUA RY2 01 8