If you are going to use your annual trade show event to celebrate 100 years of business, it has got to be big.
The Morinville and District Chamber of Commerce Trade Show committee is looking to accomplish exactly that, and has planned a stacked weekend April 15 to 17 at the Ray McDonald Sports Centre.
Having a celebrity guest also doesn’t hurt.
Nathaniel Arcand, an actor most recently seen in CBC’s Heartland and Showcase’s Blackstone, will be at the trade show to highlight “local and regional talent.” Arcand hails from the Alexander First Nation.
“He will be on-site for the whole weekend, signing autographs and generally talking to people and doing whatever people want him to do,” said Paula Hittinger, committee chairwoman. “It was very, very nice to get him [here]. He’ll be a great asset to the show.”
The show opens Friday at 5:30 p.m. with an opening ceremony featuring MLA Ken Kowalski, local dignitaries and an elder from Alexander.
New to the show this year will be a five-kilometre fun run on Saturday, with the proceeds from registration going to the Military Family Fund, providing financial aid to families of soldiers.
“We’re hoping that it is successful enough to do it every year,” said Hittinger. “We thought it would be a nice addition to the show.”
They are also going to race babies — the show will have a baby crawl Sunday.
“It’s actually one of the cutest things you will ever see,” said Hittinger. “You put them on the stage and you will have three of them crawling across [at a time].”
While it helps celebrate the centennial, the show itself is nine years old. Growing steadily each year, this weekend’s event will feature 63 businesses and community groups and is already sold out.
“We have no more room,” said Hittinger. “We’ll usually have not too many booths left empty but a couple, and we squeezed in a few extra this year just to make sure we have a fuller show than this year and it’s proven to be that.”
There was one time talk of moving the show to Morinville’s new cultural centre for next year, but Hittinger said that might not be possible because of the size of the show. A bigger location is needed.
“It’s nice to know that we’ve reached a size that we really do need the space,” she said.
