SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Thousands of people flocked to the Multiplex this past weekend for the annual Yellowknife Trade Show.

Registered Massage Therapist Emily Breen of the Gaia Integrative Clinic gives a ten-minute massage at the Yellowknife Trade Show on Saturday. Breen recently moved here from Gagetown, N.B. - Karen K. Ho/NNSL photo

Organized by the Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce, this year's event featured 160 vendors, several large exhibits and a food court, where One of a Thai's new food truck was parked outside. There was a mix of organizations from both the business and greater community, including real estate offices, the rotary club, the Montessori Society and local charities. Polar Tech also had dozens of boats, snowmobiles, motorcycles, other vehicles and even solar heaters on display, covering the entire right side of the arena.

It can be a huge investment for local businesses to take part, but Polar Tech owner Gord Olson said the foot traffic more than made up for the weeks of planning, the thousands of dollars spent on exhibiting and the need for additional staff.

"It's a good opportunity for us to show our stuff off when you're not even looking for our business," he told Yellowknifer. "We've always benefited from this."

Olson said the goal of exhibiting wasn't necessarily to make a lot in sales, but show off the scope of his company's inventory.

"Instead of standing here talking about money, we just tell them to come down to the store next week where we can talk to them on a one-on-one basis," he explained. "This is our feeder."

On the other side of the Multiplex, one of the largest displays was Spectacular NWT's white tent where they were showing a new, nine-minute 3D film of the city's Northern lights. It was shot over two different seasons by Japanese filmmaker Ikuo Nakamura.

NWT Tourism's executive director, Cathie Bolstad, said while the film was definitely going to be shown at the industry trade show Rendez-vous Canada in Niagara Falls, Ont., later this month, her organization definitely wanted Yellowknife residents to see it as well.

"We thought, people don't get to see what we do because we're out doing it everywhere else to bring them here," she said, noting that one third of the territory's 92,000 visitors came specifically for the Aurora. "We wanted people to see what we're promoting when we're abroad."

Bolstad said that by mid-afternoon on Saturday, the reaction was pretty positive overall.

"People love it and they quickly remind us it's not as good as the real thing," she said with a smile. "We wanted people to remember what they have right outside their door that people pay thousands of dollars to come up and see."

Some local entrepreneurs also came back for the show while visiting family. Naomi Bourque, the daughter of Just Fur's owner Kristine, came up from Nelson, B.C. to sell her wares next to her mother's table. The younger Bourque is currently studying at Selkirk College's Kootenay School of the Arts for sculptural metal after finishing a jewelry design program there in 2013.

She said the trade show deadline made for a great motivator, pushing her to produce new jewellery pieces, many featuring Northern elements such as caribou hide and muskox bone. A few attendees also picked up Mother's Day gifts at her display.

Naomi wasn't the only person who travelled from out of town to exhibit. General manager Zelia Silva and sales associate Nicole Niel of the Days Inn Edmonton South both said their company, D3Hotels, was represented at the trade show because of how many properties their company had in Edmonton and Saskatchewan, where many Yellowknife residents go for shopping, medical-related trips and family visits.

"We're about a five-minute drive from the hospitals," Silva said. "We also have hospital rates."

Casey Moroshan of Poly-Mor Canada drove up from Edmonton to exhibit for the fifth time. The 71-year-old owner and general manager said the distance was his biggest cost for his family-owned company, but he was able to amortize it based on the number of jobs planned for in and around Yellowknife. In addition to handing out popular bright yellow levels, Moroshan said being at the trade show was an important marketing tool.

"It lets your existing clientèle know you're alive," he said with a laugh. "Personally, I believe the North is the future."

Michelle Miller of Gracious Gowns was an independent retailer in the arena selling handmade baby items, such as toys and bibs. She said everyone in Yellowknife was very friendly. Having travelled from Maple Ridge, B.C., Miller was also surprised by the sunny, warm weather over the weekend.

"I brought all this stuff up and didn't need it!"

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