Preparations for the annual Lacombe Trade Show are going smoothly for the event to take place April 11-12.
Justin Graham, chairperson of the Lacombe Trade Show Committee, said that the Trade Show is a great opportunity for both businesses and consumers in Lacombe.
“I think it’s a good place for businesses to showcase their products,” said Graham.
He added that the trade show is held right at the end of winter, which gives people something to do after being cooped up for a long time.
Graham went on to say that trade shows offer a chance for businesses to network as well as show off their products to potential customers.
He added that it also provides a venue for businesses without a storefront to gain some exposure.
Things are already moving along fairly quickly for the event, and Graham said that trade show booths are already 39% sold. Graham added that more booths, about 20 of them, have been added to the trade show this year for a total of 120.
On the flipside, the marketplace has actually been made smaller as a result of making the tradeshow bigger and is nearly sold out.
However, Graham said that, should trade show booths not be sold out, there is the opportunity to make more booths available to the marketplace.
Because of space constraints and the desire for more trade show booths, the stage area of the Lacombe Trade Show has also been removed this year, said Graham.
This year, the Chamber is striving to make the trade show a little more family friendly.
Graham said that the rationale behind this is that a lot of people shy away from visiting the trade show because they don’t want to take their kids.
“I feel like trade shows are really boring for children,” said Graham. “If the parents want to go, they might not be coming because the kids don’t want to go. If we get the kids excited about it then we will get more parents coming.”
So, in order to attract more kids and therefore attract more people to the event, the committee is looking to book some entertainment that appeal to children.
Graham said that balloon animals, magicians, cotton candy and face-painting are just a few of the things that could make the bill.
Graham estimated that about 2,000 people came through the doors during last year’s trade show.
He added that he is hoping to get between 3,000 and 4,000 this year.
“There’s 10,000 people in Lacombe,” said Graham. “It’s a reasonable goal to reach 3,000 of them.”