By Christine Filipowich-Lukey
The Norquay and District Chamber of Commerce鈥檚 24th annual Trade Show was held March 18 and 19 with the Minions as the special guests on March 18 when they toured the booths and were photographed.
The kitchen was run by local non-profit groups throughout the weekend. On Friday, Norquay Rosa Dancers served perogies, smokies and borscht; Norquay Playschool parents sold pie and coffee and the Norquay 4-H club members took care of supper, serving lasagna, Caesar salad, garlic toast and dessert.
Saturday鈥檚 activities included the Norquay firemen serving a pancake breakfast, the Norquay Covenant Church members selling chili on buns, sandwiches and brownies, and the Norquay skate club members selling sandwiches, dessert squares and drinks.
Exhibitors included Shelwin House, Ronald Communications, Friendly Acres Seed Farm, Gardon Securities, Affinity Credit Union, Primerica Financial Services, California Dried Fruit, TLC Bed & Breakfast, The Water Clinic, Nykolaishen Ag Central and Nykolaishen Farm Equipment, Seacret Minerals from the Dead Sea, ReMax Blue Chip Realty, Pampered Chef, Tupperware, Guardians of the Children, Made in the Shade Blinds, The Blend Salon, Uff聽 Da soaps and lotions, A-1 Furnace Cleaning, Better Business Bureau, Duck Mountain Ambulance Care, Family Resource Center, Norquay branch of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, Scentsy, Apex Ag, Select Realty, Norquay Health Center Auxiliary, Mary Kay, Robinson鈥檚 Family Foods, Caleigh鈥檚 Crystals, Norquay Co-op, Preeceville Archery Products and Leson鈥檚 Funeral Home.
The Family Resource Centre had activities for kids, while Doug Nelson painted the faces of willing children. Val Morhart of Canora had an art show on Saturday.
This year the trade show included some presentations from some of the exhibitors. They included: a Shelwin House representative spoke about its program; a representative of the Better Business Bureau spoke on fraud and scam preventions; Benjamin Galay of 鈥淧roblem Solved鈥� talked about general preparation in emergency situations, and a representative of Primerica did a presentation on Registered Education Savings Plans.
Local talent kept everyone entertained.
The chamber raffled tickets for some great packages. Winners included: Carrie Dosch, a patio set and barbecue; Margaret Jacquemart, a three-person ice fishing shack with an accessory package, and Darcy Griffith, a golf package donated by Crystal Lake Golf Course.
The Minions were provided by the Family Resource Centre which has an office in Sturgis but does outreach work in the Norquay and Pelly areas. The Centre receives a Community Initiatives Fund grant to implement programs and services families.
Recently the centre has started a literacy program for children six years old and younger and their caregivers, which is called Come Grow With Me. This program is held on Monday mornings at the Covenant Church in Norquay and includes stories, songs, a craft and a snack.聽 It is a free program and everyone is welcome. A family fun night is planned for Pelly on April 22, and there will be more events to support families, said a representative of the program.
