Second annual SWCC Trade Show a hit

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Strathmore Wheatland Chamber of Commerce (SWCC) hosted their second annual trade show, at which foot traffic eclipsed last year’s attendance numbers on the Sunday. 

Switching to a one-day event, rather than over the course of a weekend, the trade show invited vendors from across and outside of Wheatland County to participate. 

Alyssa Noelle Bennet, a director on the SWCC board, said the team is excited to learn what works best for their event and continue to grow year over year. 

“I think as everything grows and evolves, we continually learn from our experiences, and this year’s trade show taught us a little about timing through the season,” she said. “I think the new board is really excited about what next year could look like. This year over last, we did not have as many family activities … so I think next year we are going to look to bring that back.”

She added there have been ideas floating around regarding next year’s show to tie it in alongside a sort of family fun day.

Featured this year were a farmer’s market, several food vendors, and a pancake breakfast hosted by the Lions Club. Noelle Bennett said live music and beer gardens were not a part of this year’s show, which the team may look to see make a return.

Being a one-day event this year, the idea was to make attendance easier both for vendors, as well as for folks who may be otherwise be busy with graduation-related activities. 

“Graduation consumed a lot of people’s time on Saturday, and we wanted to see if we could look to condense all the efforts into one day,” said Noelle Bennett. “The other part too was a two-day event can be harder on vendors, having to stretch their attendance, especially if they are not local; they have come in from outside of our region, or far away in the county.”

Next year’s event, according to Noelle Bennett, could take place in early May when it would not have to compete with other events.

Regardless of timing this year, attendance at the show and support for showcased vendors was extremely positive, especially among SWCC directors. 

“A lot of the directors definitely supported the vendors and purchased upwards of $300 or $400 worth of stuff,” said Noelle Bennett. “It was a great day and a great turnout from all of our vendors, all of our members and all of our board of directors.”

Having collected feedback from folks on both sides of the booths, the SWCC team is excited to learn from their event and come back bigger for next spring.