Sundre Petroleum Operators Group (SPOG) officials broke a new record this year for the number of booths booked at the 17th annual Neighbour's Day event.
There were 60 booths booked, forcing officials to move the lunch setup into the foyer because the space inside the arena was filled with booths.
“We are above capacity. We have probably more booths than we've ever had. We have a record number of booths this year,” said Tracey McCrimmon, executive director for SPOG.
She was pleased with how the event went over. This year's theme was “Acts, Agreements and Actions, Who's in Charge?”, which attracted 1,800 people to the event.
“We want to profile information and opportunities for learning of what the changes have been within the government going to the single regulator,” she said.
“So now that all of these different groups have now come under that one umbrella, where do you go to access that information?”
This year's guest panel included representatives from the Alberta Energy Regulator, the Town of Sundre, Mountain View County and SPOG.
Booths at the event included Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, the Mountain View BearSmart Society, the Sundre Fire Department, Plains Midstream, and Medicine River Wildlife Centre with Otis the owl.
McCrimmon said she is grateful for all of the support SPOG receives for the event, and she believes it is the most successful community industry engagement event in Alberta.
“I personally have been involved in synergy throughout the province, and of all of the other synergy groups in the province that I've participated in, this is by far the most successful community industry engagement that has existed, and certainly the longest running,” she said.
But it's not just about the industry trade show, it's also about partnerships in the community, she said.
“It's about involving all of our surrounding communities within SPOG to participate.”
The Sundre & District Chamber of Commerce hosted a trade fair at the curling rink, and Greenwood Neighbourhood Place hosted a community fair at the Arts Centre, in conjunction with the event.
Neighbour's Day started 17 years ago as an industry trade show to network between the community and industry. SPOG officials wanted to make it more of an all-encompassing community event, so for the last few years, it has partnered with the chamber, GNP and the Town of Sundre.
