CAMBRIDGE BAY - There will be lots of familiar faces as well as some new ones showing up in Cambridge Bay next week.

The hamlet will see more than 150 delegates descend on the community Feb. 7-8 for the 2007 Kitikmeot Trade Show, which will again be hosted at Kiilinik high school.

Kugaaruk elder John Ningark, a board member with the Nunavut Development Corporation, serves up some hot Arctic char during the 2006 Kitikmeot Trade Show. This year's show in Cambridge Bay is expected to draw 150 delegates to the community Feb. 7-8. - John Curran/NNSL photo

"This is going to be a great event," said Mayor Michelle Gillis.

The trade show will bring together businesses from across Canada, government departments, Inuit agencies and local business to discuss potential economic opportunities for the region, she said.

"People are really able to come out and network," she said.

More than 30 exhibitors had registered for the show as of last week.

An influx of people into the community is also providing a boost to the economy and most of the community's 150 hotel beds have been booked up. With visitors purchasing gifts and food, it's expected that the event will bring in more than $200,000 in economic benefits for the community, she said.

At the Green Row Executive Suites, all 48 beds and 27 rooms are booked, said manager Evangeline Duke.

"This is what we like," she said. "It will keep us pretty busy."

Planning for the trade show began last October and the lineup should interest the diverse field of delegates, said Bill Buckle, the hamlet's senior administrative officer.

This year's main theme is infrastructure and keynote speaker Peter Scott, president of the Nunavut Housing Corporation, should provide some valuable insight into the territory's needs and projects, he said.

A discussion on public-private partnerships facilitated by Cambridge Bay resident Doug Crossley will also be a highlight, he said.

The trade show will take young people and careers into consideration as two students from each Kitikmeot community have been sponsored to attend as youth delegates. Students from Kiilinik high school will also attend sessions to hear about potential career opportunities, he said.

Miramar Mining Corporation hopes to make an impression with youth from the Kitikmeot as they host a youth breakfast during the trade show, said Heather Duggan, the company's vice-president of human resources.

"We're trying to help encourage young people to talk about mining and a future career in it," she said.

Miramar's Doris North project could potentially be open by late 2008 and attending the trade show allows the company to speak with other businesses and groups with interests in the North.

"This is about meeting businesses, people and entrepreneurs. It's really a social function," Duggan said.