Affinity Place was once again a centre of commerce and business in its own right, being the location of the Estevan Chamber of Commerces’s 2016 Showcase Business Expo from Sept. 23-25.
A wide range of businesses, including those on the local, regional, provincial, and national levels, with the majority coming from the southeastern part of Saskatchewan were present. They brought an assortment of eye-catching booths and exhibits that attracted a steady amount of interest from guests throughout the weekend.
The kinds of offerings at the Showcase ran a gamut of industries and areas of interest, from construction and renovation to vendors selling health and wellness products and sporting equipment.
“It was a little smaller than last year, but last year was an exception because it was the largest,” said Chamber executive director Jackie Wall. “I would say it was slightly below average, in terms of the number of vendors there.”
Wall noted the slightly lower attendance didn’t discourage her, given its longer record for growth in prior years. This year’s showcase had a total of 69 booths set up at Affinity Place as opposed to last year’s 92. Although the exact number of guests who attended over the weekend wasn’t available before the Mercury’s press deadline, Wall said vendors claimed that traffic at their booths was steady all weekend, with occasional upticks during busy hours in the afternoon.
“I do know that a couple of the vendors I spoke to said there were times when it got extremely busy,” said Wall.
Ryan Wall, a representative for Heat Innovations, noted that although there weren’t enormous crowds checking out his booth near the entrance the people who did check out what his business had to offer showed serious interest, and showed promise of looking further into the floor heating technology he was there to promote.
Beatrice Kennedy, one of the representatives present for the Bear Claw Casino and Hotel, said that she and her fellow representative Samantha Strongeagle saw a turnout that they were pleased with, along with plenty of interest in their exhibit.
“People seem to be enjoying themselves. We’ve got some interest from people, and there’s already a lot of people travelling here, whom we’ve met from as far away as Alberta,” said Kennedy on Saturday afternoon. “Since the first time we were here, I’ve seen busier showcases, but I’ve also seen quieter showcases. It’s not too bad of a crowd.”
Wall said she thinks what keeps the Showcase popular is that it’s a twofold opportunity for guests, in the respect that it’s a place to build business contacts and connections, and also an opportunity for customers to have a retail experience with the many vendors who participate.
“I absolutely think it was a successful event. We had a nice, wide range of businesses, with hundreds of different products. The weather was conducive to people wanting to do something inside, so that helped,” said Wall. “It was a great, annual event that we hope is going to continue to grow and be successful.”
