The biggest trade show west of Prince George kicked off April 27 at the Terrace Sportsplex Hidber Arena and connected new businesses, entrepreneurs, services and products under one roof.
Organized by the Terrace and District Chamber of Commerce, the show featured over 75 exhibitors over two days and heard from industry representatives including the Northern Savings Credit Union, ThriveNorth, Bell Media and Rio Tinto.
“It was a great event this year,” said Michelle Taylor, executive director for the Terrace and District Chamber of Commerce. She estimates over 3,000 people attended.
On Saturday, participants enjoyed food prepared by Northwest Community College culinary students at the centre of the arena and learned more about the ins and outs of recycling from the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine.
Five exhibitors were also awarded prizes for their booths this year. Studio 3 Salon & Spa won in the best retail booth category, and Rio Tinto won the best commercial industrial booth award. Recognition for the best customer service booth went to the Centennial Christian School, and ThriveNorth also snatched up a community award for their booth.
The award for best overall booth went to Kitsumkalum Galts’ap, who displayed their creativity and professionalism with beautiful ornate flowers made by Faith Wind and Sandra Wesley. The flowers were then given out freely to passers-by.
The partnership between ThriveNorth and the Terrace and District Chamber of Commerce is new this year and functioned as a way to further connect and support young entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 to 39 with the civic and business network of Terrace.
“We are proud to support new businesses and young entrepreneurs in our area,” said Taylor.
The Terrace Chamber announced they would cover the vendor fees for 10 previous participants from ThriveNorth’s Business Challenge, and offered the young entrepreneurs a discounted membership rate with the non-profit association for a year.
“These are the future businesses of our community, and it’s exciting to see and hear about how these ideas germinate and become a reality,” said Taylor.
READ MORE: Terrace Business Expo draws a good crowd
The Rotary Club of Terrace also manned the front door at the Sportsplex and hosted 50-50 draws at the top of the hour throughout the event. Outside the arena, Redneck Kitchen, And the Weiner Is, and Beyond Burgers served food to hungry attendees until the expo ended at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
brittany@terracestandard.com
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