It's that time of year again, time to pack your bags, hitch up your horses, load up the stagecoach, and 'Go West' to Las Vegas for the latest International Vision Expo West.

First stop is the Sands Expo and Convention Center where the rootinest tootinest convention this side of the Mississippi gets underway on Sept. 14 with 180,000 square feet of space with more than 500 exhibitors.

"We expect this year's Las Vegas show to be as large an event as its sister convention in New York City," says Tina Jordan, public relations manager for the trade show. "The main difference between the two shows is that our West Coast show is geared more toward the active lifestyle and sunwear end of the industry, while the East Coast show is more focused on fashion and technology."

So you won't miss out, be sure to get on yer best britches and take in the "Fun in the Sun" Fashion Show on the trade show floor. Scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 16, at 2 p.m., the show will feature models wearing the latest in designer leisurewear, sunglasses, sports glasses, and outdoor eyewear accessories. A Center of Style Showcase, located in the Sunwear Pavilion, will display products featured on the runway.

Also, don't miss the Contact Lenses, Solutions & Pharmaceutical Pavilion, the place to find everything you could possibly want regarding contact lenses.

Of course, there's only so much sun, fun, and fashion that a pardner kin take, so the education program at Vision Expo, as always, takes center stage.

This year's program features more than 350 hours of CE in 22 tracks. Also, industry expert Joseph Bruneni has designed a special new track for lab personnel that has been scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 16. Also notable on the education side is the 20-hour TPA course given by Drs. Ron Melton and Randall Thomas. For the first time at any national conference, they will present their seminar, "Current Therapy in Ocular Disease."

And Las Vegas being Las Vegas, Vision Expo West would not be complete without its Vision Dollars sweepstakes, a buyer's reward program that offers attendees the chance to win valuable prizes from a variety of sponsors.

Finally, when yer all tuckered out, don't forget to grab a cuppa Joe at the Cyber Caf�. Located on the trade show floor and co-sponsored by E-Dr. Network, it's the ideal place to lasso your e-mail from cyberspace.

So, set yer sites on Las Vegas and get ready for the first International Vision Expo West hoe-down of the century. EB