Duane Hicks
With the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce’s 21st-annual TBayTel home and leisure show coming here in just over a month, more and more exhibitors are signing up.
But for those undecided about getting involved, Chamber office manager Dawn Booth said there’s still time to book space for the show, which will run May 1-2 at the Memorial Sports Centre.
“We’re probably just over half full,” noted Booth. “I think we have 38 exhibitors on the list, but a lot of them have three and four and up to eight booths.
“We have a lot of new people coming in this year, or people who were new last year and are coming back and taking additional space,” she added.
“There’s lots of people from Northwestern Ontario, a couple people from Minnesota coming in. They’re from all over the place, as usual.”
Booth said while the Chamber has accepted exhibitor registrations right up until the last minute in the past, and always seems to find a way to fit exhibitors in, the sooner she gets that information, the better.
This helps with planning out areas for seating and for kids’ activities, for example.
As in previous years, Booth said there will be an exhibitor and sponsor mix-and-mingle on the Friday night after the show, but something new is an exhibitor lounge—a special room where exhibitors will be able to go during the two-day show and have coffee, eat a snack, and take a break from the crowds.
Since the home show was so successful in 2008, with close to 4,000 visitors, Booth noted the event will be quite similar to last year’s, with kids’ activities, the Global Gaming video game corner, amateur and children’s photo contests, a cutest pet photo contest, a penny auction, and “Plinko.”
“We’ve got a lot of the exhibitors coming in and doing exciting things, like the OPP is bringing in a cruiser so the kids can go through it and see what it looks like,” Booth enthused.
“The MNR isn’t confirmed yet, but they’re also looking at bringing in a big trailer that has displays in it people can check out.
Lots of the exhibitors are looking at doing interactive things, so that will be exciting for everybody,” she remarked. “All in all, I think it’s going to be a great show.
“We may just even top last year’s, which was probably one of the best one’s ever.”
The Chamber also will be holding a contest whereby each person who pays the $3 admission fee to the show receives an entry to win $1,000 in cash.
There also will be attendance draws for Chamber of Commerce tapestries, which are valued at $100, as well as a promotion tied into the Chamber’s “Project Petunia,” whereby they are striving to get 100 sponsors for flower baskets this year.
The theme for the TBayTel spring home and leisure show is “Celebrating 100 Years of Business,” which is fitting given 2009 is the Chamber’s 100th anniversary.
Booth said there will be an official kick-off at 6 p.m. on the Friday evening, featuring special guests and birthday cake for everyone.
The birthday theme also will tie into the children’s activities over the two days.
For more information on the show, to book space as an exhibitor, or to sign up as a volunteer, call Booth at 274-5773. Information also is available at www.fortfranceschamber.com
