The Kitikmeot Trade Show is coming back to Cambridge Bay from Feb. 15 to 17. More than 52 booths will be open, representing key Northern organizations such as POLAR Knowledge Canada, Canadian North, Aurora Energy Solutions Inc., Qulliq Energy Corporation, Government of Nunavut and more.
“It’s our 22nd trade show, but our 24th year organizing the event due to the pandemic,” saidJim MacEachern,chief administrative officer of the Kitikmeot Trade Show Steering Committee.
The pre-meet and greet takes place at the CHARS campus, followed by the meet and greet at the Luke Novoligak Community Hall. The Trade Show floor will be located at the Kiilinik High School gymnasium.
“This is a great opportunity for businesses to network and find suppliers or other companies to supply to. It’s really an event to help business development,” added MacEachern.
Each year, the show welcomes organizations from the provincial, federal, non-profit and private sector.
Since the trade show has been canceled for the last two years, MacEachern said he’s looking forward to meeting with all the participants and is “excited for the opportunity to get together again.”
The event takes between five to six months to prepare, according to MacEachern: “Our biggest challenge was to accommodate all the participants. Creating space can be challenging in facilities, which have a maximum capacity of 200 people like at the community Hall in Cambridge Bay.”
The limited space to host the events also has a positive effect on the quality of representatives each organization sends.
“We’ve found that since the places are limited, the individuals that attend to represent their organization have higher positions, they usually are the decision makers,” said MacEachern.
The main goal of the event is “networking, business opportunities, supplying or finding suppliers, making connections with government departments, engaging with the community and residents,” said MacEachern.
Everyone is invited to visit and employment opportunities will also be available at the event.
“The RCMP has a recruiting booth and the Hamlet of Cambridge Bay is usually hiring as well,” said MacEachern.