The Ponoka and District Chamber of Commerce Trade Fair and Energy Expo will be happening at the Ponoka Arena Complex on Friday, April 24 from 3 to 9 p.m. and Saturday, April 25 from 10 to 5 p.m. At this event, the three ice surfaces will be utilized.
The curling rink will be home to the farmer’s market with entertainment by Joe West for both days and based on last year’s success, the small arena will feature the second annual Energy Expo made possible by Encana and Quicksilver Resources. This portion of the rink will include 28 local and province wide booths providing a broad based look at the oil and gas industry with representatives on hand to answer questions and provide information such as current job opportunities and more. Since the theme of this year’s fair is pirates, Captain Jack and his crew of Scallywags will be putting on their fearless antics performance including juggling and walking on glass. There will also be 500 keys treasure chest, extreme bungee, “Hog and grog” food and Jorgenson homes have created an impressive pirate ship playhouse and will selling tickets on it with all proceeds going to the programs at the Ponoka Youth Centre.
The main ice surface will include roughly 78 trade fair booths, all of which are sold out, displaying information on everything from the Town of Ponoka information booth to local, independent business owners taking the opportunity to display the services they offer to the crowds of roughly 6,000 people expected to visit over the duration of the two days.
“This is one of the best known trade fairs in central Alberta. It brings people into our community and provides quality contacts for future sales approaches,” said executive manager for the Ponoka and District Chamber of Commerce, Barry Neath, before suggesting additional personal business and community advantages. At the trade fair, one can see more people in less time than would ever be possible in the field on top of generating new and innovative ideas through networking, so there are plenty of reasons why it one of most highly anticipated events of the year.
The Ponoka Chamber will host a continental vendor breakfast on Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. to allow for additional networking opportunities.
Since the theme of this year’s trade fair is Pirates, in keeping with that idea, the chamber will once again be offering theme-promoting items for sale.
For more information, contact the chamber office, Monday thru Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at 403-783-3888 or e-mail chamber@ponoka.org