Duane Hicks
The Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce is gearing up for its 22nd-annual Home and Leisure Show this Friday and Saturday (April 30-May 1) at the Memorial Sports Centre.
This year’s event, which is sponsored mainly by TBayTel and the Chamber, follows the theme “Embracing the Green Revolution—Think Globally, Act Locally.”
Chamber manager Anthony Mason said he’s expecting more than 50 exhibitors for this year’s show, with a blend of businesses hailing from Rainy River District as well as Winnipeg and Thunder Bay.
The exhibitors run the gamut from home decorating, landscaping, carpeting, flooring, windows and doors, insulation, cabinetry, and furniture to organic food and clothing, eco-friendly beauty products, artwork and photography, local food, water coolers and filtration, and cellular and broadband service.
But those shopping for boats, motors, and ATVs also will have plenty to choose from as both Badiuk Equipment and Pinewood Sports & Marine will be in the ’52 Canadians Arena.
The non-profit sector also will be on hand. For example, the La Verendrye Hospital Auxiliary will be “Rockin’ for a Reason.”
Special guests and volunteers who have collected pledges will be rocking on rocking chairs for one hour from 5-9 p.m. on Friday, and again from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday.
All proceeds will support the auxiliary’s many projects.
As well, the Riverside Foundation for Health Care will be selling its Canada Day raffle tickets during the trade show.
Mainstays returning to the event include demonstrations by Energy Fitness Centre, the Fort Frances High School “chem-free” grad cake roulette, the amateur and cutest pet photo contests, and a children’s area run by Diana’s Daycare featuring face-painting, colouring, games, and crafts.
Specific exhibitors also will be having giveaways and draws, or special contests. Gillons’ Insurance, for instance, again will stage its Wii fishing tournament, with proceeds going to the “Relay for Life.”
The popular “Plinko” game also will return, with players guaranteed to win a prize every time.
The grand prize is a patio set courtesy of Wal-Mart.
The show will run from 4-9 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday.
Admission is $3, but it will enter you in a draw to win one of two $500 Chamber gift certificates.
Mason noted this is a change from last year, when the Chamber had one draw for a $1,000 gift certificate.
Organizers thought it would be more exciting to have two winners spend their winnings at local businesses.
Mason added Chamber gift certificates have become increasingly popular, with an estimated $60,000 bought in the past year alone.
“The businesses and organizations have really took hold of it,” he remarked. “It’s spent in the Fort Frances area, and that’s great for our hometown.
“The money is staying here,” he stressed.
These certificates are being bought not only by businesses, but individuals.
For example, several people bought them last week for a wedding shower.
