The Estevan Showcase Business Expo is returning in September for its 25th anniversary and a number of changes have been announced for the event.
Showcase will be happening on Sept. 28 and 29 at the Power Dodge Ice Centre. Those who want to purchase a booth will enjoy a 25 per cent discount and if they register before Jan. 21, they will receive an additional 10 per cent off.
It will be held over just two days this year, instead of the traditional three. The doors will be open on the Friday and Saturday.
“We have decided to extend the Saturday hours because that is one of the busiest days and the Sunday has always been hit or miss, depending what events are in town, which is why we are just holding the event for two days being the Friday and Saturday,” said Jackie Wall, the executive director of the Estevan Chamber of Commerce.
“We generally book between 60 and 90 booths but this year because of the discounts we may see more booths being purchased,” she added.
The Estevan Salvation Army’s food bank will be taking donations at the entry points into the ice centre.
Showcase not only has a variety of business vendors on hand, looking to sell products to shoppers, but it also has non-profit organizations and artists.
“We get all kinds of businesses at the event big or small with everything from home businesses and large companies to self employed artists” said Wall.
“Some people book in multiple shows throughout the whole year so some years we have a lot of artisan crafts people and some years we don’t,” she added.
Wall sees Showcase as a great opportunity to bring people to Estevan, where they utilize the city’s restaurants, gas stations and hotels. Walls said that people come as far away as Alberta and Manitoba just to be a part of the Showcase and believes the event means a lot to the people who buy booths because they see value in being involved with Showcase.
“The (SaskTel) Tankard had a booth last year that was a great opportunity for them to get some exposure,” said Wall. “The Showcase brings a lot of people from out of town and from rural areas that may not have a reason otherwise to come and visit Estevan.”
Last year’s edition of Showcase attracted 61 vendors and more than 1,700 people. It was held at the Ice Centre for the first time since 2010; Showcase was at Affinity Place from 2011 to 2016.
