Attendance was up by an estimated 20 per cent at the 30th edition of Agri-Trade, which wrapped up on Saturday, says the show’s general manager.
Dianne Smirl, who has taken the reins from founding manager Patrick Kennedy, said on Sunday that she won’t have any precise numbers until next month, after figures have been audited.
Unofficially, however, numbers are stronger than last year, when about 40,000 people passed through the turnstiles at Red Deer’s Westerner Park, occupied entirely by Agri-Trade during the four days of the show. Those numbers may have been higher, but attendance last year was affected by a bad storm on the first two days, said Smirl.
Changes to this year’s show, including moving the former Home Happenings section out of the Salons and replacing it with Market Place, located in the Harvest Centre, did affect traffic for those exhibitors, she said.
Calgary-based Peter Tsai, who sells Panasonic massage chairs, said traffic at his booth was down by 50 per cent from previous years. However, Tsai anticipates that more people will attend the Market Place as they become accustomed to the change. He said better signage would have helped.
Smirl said people will need a couple of years to get used to the move.
Elnora-area farmer Jim Wood, now in his second term as mayor of Red Deer County, said while cruising the aisles on Saturday that he felt “like a kid in a candy store.”
Wood said Agri-Trade is where progressive farmers come to get better.
“I just come to see what’s new. The neat thing is you come out here to compare, and all the different manufacturers are here.”
Red Deer County sponsors Agri-Trade, maintains an exhibit at the show and is involved indirectly as a member of the Westerner Exposition Association.
“Just being here allows you to understand some of the things (the county) is doing,” said Wood.
Smirl estimated that Agri-Trade brings about $30 million in spending to the region, not including the trade generated by the various businesses that take part in the show.
If that were include the numbers would probably rise to the hundreds of millions, said Smirl.
Agri-Trade and the Westerner are planning to work together on a new economic impact study in about two years, she said.
Smirl is also working on a few ideas to help attract more people to the show, including putting exhibitors with similar products together.
She said a new logo and a new website are being developed as part of a rebranding scheme, but would offer no hints about what that may involve.
Agri-Trade 2014 is scheduled for Nov. 5-8.
bkossowan@www.reddeeradvocate.com