The slight drop in attendance at the third annual Explore Sundre Adventure & Home Expo did not dampen the main organizer’s enthusiasm moving forward.
“Actually it was good,” said Mike Beukeboom, who is also a past president of the Sundre and District Chamber of Commerce, about the event held May 11-12 at the local arena as well as the facility’s parking lot.
Essentially the only low point was the reduced turnout of roughly 1,000 people, down from last year’s approximately 1,300, he said.
“We were kind of really close to Year 1 totals.”
The general consensus, he said, attributed the decrease to the late arrival of spring that had delayed many people’s seasonal chores. Whether farmers or residents, Beukeboom said he heard many people decided to take advantage of the spectacular weather that weekend to catch up on tidying and preparing their lawns or fields.
“Everybody’s behind on getting things done for spring.”
Otherwise, the expo went off without a hitch, and was very well received by vendors, both new and returning, he said, adding some committed to coming back next year before even being asked.
“I was very encouraged by that.”
There were about 40 vendors who booked some 60 available spaces. The trade fair offers businesses and organizations the opportunity to spread the word about their products or services, perhaps even making some sales along the way, he said.
“The new vendors who came were very excited about the whole weekend.”
Many came from Sundre, Olds and the surrounding area, while some came from as far away as Red Deer, he said.
Also setting a new trend this year was the number of seasonal campers to come through, he added.
“I spoke with more of the seasonal campers than ever before. That was kind of new. It’s starting to feel like the word is out that this event is running.”
The expo introduces that demographic to the services that are available right in or around Sundre that can cater to their recreational acreages or RV lots, he said.
Also encouraging this year were the chainsaw carving and safety demonstrations, which Beukeboom hopes to build upon in future years by introducing a competition.
Such an event naturally fits in well with a community that has deep roots in forestry, and this year’s chainsaw experts, arborist Alfred Schmutz and artist Greg McMartin, were excited about the opportunity to showcase their skills as well as ramp up the concept into a full carving competition in the future, he said.
“I need those guys — they’ll help me bring in the talent for future events. We’re looking forward to making that happen next year,” he said, adding a competition could, to get started, feature perhaps half a dozen contestants and hopefully grow from there.
The expo organizer said he fully intends to remain involved in helping to steer future trade shows, and looks forward to the new chamber executive providing direction.
Another new element that could potentially generate additional interest in the trade fair is a beer garden featuring local and regional breweries and meaderies, he said.
“That’s something I’d like to work towards for next year.”
The main goal is to come up with ways to draw out more people regardless of the weather conditions, he said.
Overall, people’s input was positive this year, he said.
“As long as you’re getting good feedback, you’re going in the right direction.”
Lending a helping hand again this year were Sundre High School May Queen students, whose contributions Beukeboom was grateful for.
“We’ve got some fantastic kids in this town, and I see it every time we work with May Queen or the high school.”
