COUNTY EXPO: Event dovetails business with entertainment

March 14, 2013

COLUMBIA CITY — Sixty different businesses, nonprofit organizations and vendors will converge on Indian Springs Middle School for the Whitley County Expo Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Whitley County Chamber of Commerce is hosting the event and Executive Director Doug Brown said this year’s expo is “more like a party than a business fair.”

“Vendors are still signing up and the numbers are still coming in,” Brown said. “We have some unusual vendors and quite a few that are here for the first time. It’s a completely different show than in years past.”

Originally the expo was scheduled as an annual event in April, but this year the expo is almost a month earlier. Bumping up the time frame has welcomed more landscapers and out-door businesses to the show.

In the past, approximately 1,000 people have come through the middle school. Brown said a bit of “tweaking” to the layout of the show will give vendors a more convenient approach and those visiting the vendors will find the traffic flow easier to navigate.

Entertainment will be provided by groups such as Dance ‘Til U Drop, Hit The Floor Dance Studio, The Red Hat Strutters and others. Door prizes and drawings will offer attendees some freebies.

“This is about putting vendors and people together,” Brown said. “In the end, people will get a chance to connect with the county’s businesses and possibly make new relationships. All around it is a positive event for everyone.”

Indian Springs Middle School is located off Ind. 9 south of Columbia City.