Staff
The number of spots for exhibitors at the Business & Community Expo 2015 are filling up fast.
A total of 46 exhibitors have signed up so far for the expo, which will run May 22-23 at the Memorial Sports Centre.
“We’re not full yet,” Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce manager Annely Armstrong-Thorstad noted yesterday.
“We’ve have 11 10’x10’ spots left [at Ice For Kids Arena].”
She added the Chamber also is renting out tables for vendors, such as home-based businesses, in the ’52 Canadians Arena this year.
The other half will be occupied by Sunset Country Ford.
“Part of the arena is open so we figured instead of bringing in more bulk stuff in, we thought it might be a good idea [to have the tables],” reasoned Armstrong-Thorstad.
“We get so many inquiries all of the time about home-based businesses, vendors, and crafters and where can they go,” she noted.
Registration for the expo is on a first-come, first-served basis so interested exhibitors should contact Armstrong-Thorstad A.S.A.P. at 274-5773 or via e-mail at thefort@fortfranceschamber.com
“As soon as they’re gone, they’re gone,” she stressed.
In addition to local and regional businesses both large and small, the expo also will feature groups such as the Fort Frances Horticultural Society, Seniors and Law Enforcement Together/Assisted Living Action Group (S.A.L.T./A.L.A.G.), and the Boundary Waters Dragon Boat Club.
The latter is looking for paddlers to sign up for the fourth-annual Boundary Waters Dragon Boat Festival, which will run here Saturday, June 27.
The Northwest Business Centre also will be on hand to answer questions and give assistance to young entrepreneurs who want to start or expand a business, said Armstrong-Thorstad.
The expo also will include charity fundraisers such as the La Verendrye Hospital Auxiliary’s “Rockin’ for a Reason,” the Riverside Foundation for Health Care’s Canada Day cash lottery, and the Voyageur Lions Club’s “Jail or Bail.”
The always-popular Fort High “chem-free” grad cake roulette will be there, as well.
The Voyageur Lions also will be providing volunteers as expo ambassadors, which Armstrong-Thorstad said is very beneficial considering that getting people to help at the expo often is one of the hardest parts of organizing it.
The expo will run May 22 from 4 p.m.-9 a.m. and again May 23 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
In related news, the Chamber will be holding its annual general membership meeting this Tuesday (April 28) from 7-8:30 p.m. at La Place Rendez-Vous.
Guest speakers will include Steve Dafoe of Unison Benefits Corp., who will speak about Chamber group benefits, and Grant Goddard, general manager of New Gold’s Rainy River project.
The agenda also will include the president’s message from Jennifer Greenhalgh, approval of minutes, the treasurer’s report, and a bylaw committee report.
Chamber members and non-members alike are encouraged to attend.
RSVP via e-mail at thefort@fortfranceschamber.com
