The Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce business expo is back for another year at the Fort Frances Curling Club running Apr. 28-29.
Businesses from the Rainy River District and beyond will be on hand to show off their products and services for the public. There will also be fundraising efforts on hand. The event runs from 4- 8 p.m. on Friday Apr. 28 and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday Apr. 29.
Some businesses like The Window and Door Store will have some stock on hand to show off available products while other, smaller businesses will have things for sale.
Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Heather Johnson says the expo is a great opportunity for businesses to put their products and services in front of a lot of people over a short period of time.
“We do have a fairly high attendance level,” Johnson said. “So what it does is it gets their businesses to be noticed by a lot of people that may not even know about them or what they offer in products. So many businesses through COVID have either diversified or expanded to make sure they were providing customers with what they wanted in our town rather than having to shop out (of town). So a lot of these businesses have expanded and they have a much greater line of products than they’ve ever had before.”
Many businesses will be holding free raffles of their products, and also have free swag to hand out. Johnson says the Chamber of Commerce will provide attendees with bags to collect any giveaways they might want.
The LaVerendrye General Hospital Auxiliary will be holding its annual Rockin’ for a Reason fundraiser while the Fort Frances Lion’s Club will be back with the Bail n’ Jail which will be raising funds for the Make a Big Splash Spray Park campaign.
There is no charge for entry to the Expo and there will be opportunities for all ages. The Rainy River District Social Services Association Board will have a kids area again as well as Fantastic Castles will be back again with inflatables across the street from the curling club like last year. The inflatables will be available into Sunday morning with hopes that the weather will be drier than last year.
While there is no cost for admission the Chamber of Commerce is hoping that families will bring a non-perishable food item to be donated to local food banks.
