THE BRANDON SUN • WINTER FAIR • MARCH 2023
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Trade Show back, bigger and better
A lemonade stand employee squeezes fresh lemons at a stand in the Keystone Centre, during the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair. The stand has been a longtime staple at the annual event. (File/The Brandon Sun)
With the pandemic now in the rear-view mirror, or- ganizers for the Royal Man- itoba Winter Fair hope the 2023 rendition will bring renewed energy and suc- cess for the event. And there are good signs that this will come to pass, as exhibitor numbers from this year’s trade show have rebounded. “Last year the organiza- tion only had five weeks to press the button on the
winter fair,” said Provin- cial Exhibition of Manito- ba general manager, Mark Humphries. “But this year, we’re definitely up in num- bers from last year. In fact we’re getting back up to 2019 numbers, with the possibility of exceeding that.” This year’s trade show and exhibits will be seen and felt throughout the Keystone Centre, with booths set up on the are-
na concourse, in the MNP Hall, UCT Pavillion, and the Manitoba Room. And of course, the Royal Farmyard will continue its role with the fair at the Flynn Arena and Curling Club. There will be some
changes to the structure of the trade show this year, with the most notable in- novation the creation of a Royal Food Court in the Manitoba Room. Hum- phries says the court will be an open concept with a seating area. Part of the room will also be licensed, so fairgoers will be able to wander from food venue to food venue. “They’ll be able to get a three-course meal, with starts and an [alcoholic] drink if they want one,” Humphries said. Fairgoers can expect some new exhibitors and some old familiar faces in the trade show and exhibi- tions. The pandemic had a negative effect on the for- tunes of many exhibitors from previous years, Hum- phries said, and it’s taken awhile for their strength in numbers to return—in part because the pandem- ic forced an evolution of sorts.
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Kids play at one of the trade show tables in this file image from the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair. (Submitted)
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