A lot of the old favourites will be back but the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce is hoping that more businesses will rent tables for the April 26-27 expo which will bring visitors from across the District to see what Fort Frances has to offer.
Heather Johnson is the Executive Director of the Fort Frances Chamber, she says a lot of past favourites will be back for this year’s expo.
“We’ve got a good crew back and a few new ones,” Johnson said. “So that’s always good to see.”
Already signed up are the Beyak Automotive Group, which brings in featured vehicles to show off. Fun-Tastic Castles will be back with inflatables near the curling rink for children to have fun.
Fun-Tastic Castles will also be running movie nights both Friday and Saturday evenings with a giant inflatable screen. Families will be able to listen to the movies from the comfort of their own cars. Admission will be $8 for adults and $5 for children.
“They will have one on Friday night and Saturday night, both starting at 9 p.m.” Johnson said. “They’re just getting permission for the movies that they’re going to show, but they’ll be family movies. Chem free grad is going to be running the concession stand to raise money for themselves as well.”
Members of the senior class at Fort Frances High School will also be collecting donations at the door. Entrance to the expo is a donation to local food banks or a donation of cat or dog food which will be passed along to local animal rescues, Best for Kitty or RuffCue.
The Fort Frances Voyageurs Lions Club will have the annual Bail or Jail on Saturday. The Lions Club is also raising funds for Best for Kitty and RuffCue. If you want to issue an arrest warrant for someone you know they will have to raise $300 to stay out of jail or spend part of the afternoon in the cage at the expo.
Local first responders including the OPP and Rainy River District Paramedic services will be on hand with different vehicles for families to visit as well.
While many things are already planned, Johnson says they would like to have more booths booked.
“We’re having a really slow time getting people to take up booths,” Johnson said. “We had some right away and hopefully we’ll have some more that will join up.”
Johnson has heard that some businesses are struggling to get staffing for the event.
“We have three home-based businesses so far, but we’re hoping for a few more,” she said. “We have a few that are having a hard time finding staffing for the weekend, so we’re going to have one that will be there only Friday night and another booth that will be there on Saturday.”
Johnson emphasized that the price of a booth has not changed since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Anyone interested in booking a booth at the expo should reach out to Heather Johnson at the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce. Johnson can be reached by phone at 807-274-5773 or by email at thefort@fortfranceschamber.com. Details booth pricing at the expo are available on the chamber website fortfranceschamber.com
“We’re really hoping we can get a good showing and put on a really good expo,” she said.
