By Don Urquhart, Times Chronicle
It was another successful year for the 31st annual Women of Oliver for Women (WOW) Trade Show with more exhibitors and a steady crowd that has organizers contemplating the possibility of a future two-day event.
WOW President and one of several co-organizers of the event Sally Franks was ecstatic, not to mention tired, on Saturday afternoon as a steady flow of visitors perused and purchased goods and services from the nearly 70 vendors at the show.
“It’s excellent, a lot of vendors,” Franks said adding “We had fewer vendors last year but this year we’re extremely busy.”
Each year brings its share of new vendors she notes, with more vendors offering home-made preserves this year, a likely result of the rising costs of food which has seen more people involved in small-scale food production, she notes.
While most vendors were from the Okanagan, some came from surrounding regions including as far as Castlegar.
“We were just talking about whether we should have two days,” she said noting that quite a number of vendors are not from the Oliver/Osoyoos area with many from Vernon, Kelowna, as well as Castlegar.
It’s also quite a lot of work to organize and set up for only one day she adds. The WOW group begins working on the event in earnest in early January but well before that the Oliver Parks and Recreation ends up getting phone calls inquiring about the event.
The Trade Show which began in 1992 as a fundraiser for Soroptimist International of Oliver, became the WOW Trade Show after leaving the Soroptimist affiliation.
The Women of Oliver for Women (WOW) is an informal non-profit society of community-minded individuals who believe in giving back to the community by working for the betterment of women and families, providing community service and raising funds for worthwhile causes.
For more information about the society visit the WOW website, email [email protected] or call Sally Franks at 250-498-0104 or Shirley Polk at 250-485-7627.
