SWCC, Town, County partner to host new trade show

By John Watson Local Journalism initiative Reporter

The Strathmore Wheatland Chamber of Commerce (SWCC) is partnering with the Town of Strathmore and Wheatland County to debut a new trade show this May, intended to showcase the local region.

According to SWCC executive director Scott Silva, the event is themed after regional lifestyle to give attendees a broad sense of what is available in the community.

“We (want to) focus on and showcase a lot of attention on everything from our agri-business, our tourism sector, our industrial manufacturing and also our retailers, local farmers and artisan markets,” said Silva. “It’s something that not only the SWCC has been thinking about for some time, but now that we’re coming out of COVID-19, we’re (finally) able to do it.”

Silva said the idea has been circulating between the partner organizations for some time and with public health restrictions being largely lifted, it’s a good time to finally host the event. 

He also commended the Town and County for their teams’ efforts in developing and coordinating the event.

“I think it’s been on everyone’s mind, the timing has come together really well, the Town has really stepped up … same thing with the County. It’s really just a team effort that’s brought it together,” said Silva.

The goal of the event is to make the trade show an annual occurrence that will continue to grow. 

“We want to definitely showcase everything we have to offer here in the region and so that’s why we’re going with a regional lifestyle trade show,” he said. “Within that, you’re going to see different vendors on the indoor sector where you’re going to see some of our local retailers, artisans and businesses.

“As we move around closer to the outside, you’ll see a lot of the agri-producers and tourism, but also some of the manufacturing and industrial.”

In total, the show will host 36 vendors and six non-profit organizations for its debut occurrence. Being hosted in the Strathmore Motor Products Sports Center, Silva explained there is ample room for the event to continue to grow and see more vendors in the future.

Currently, the event is funded by the SWCC though through table fees, ticket sales and sponsors. The team aims to more than make back their operating costs. As of publication, a title sponsor had yet to sign on with the event.

“We’ve got a lot of great businesses out here in the county and in the region, so we want to be able to showcase all of that. One thing that we’re trying to do is not only showcase the region to all of our residents that live out here, but we’re also trying to attract the Calgary market,” said Silva. “There’s always a challenge, I think that’s why as they say, ‘if it was easy everyone would do it,’ but because of our team and our board members and even our volunteers, we’ve really been able to bring it together.”

The event will be hosted May 27-28 at the SMP Sports Center. More details for potential vendors, sponsors, and regarding attendance can be found on the SWCC website (www.theswcc.ca).