The Prince Albert Exhibition Centre was a busy place on May 4 thanks to the annual Prince Albert Family Expo.
With the doors open for an hour, there was already a lineup wrapped around the Centre.
“It will be interesting to see what the final numbers come in at, but it’s post-pandemic and is definitely busier than it’s been,” Kara Thorpe of the Prince Albert Early Childhood Council said.
This was the eighth year that the Early Childhood Council hosted the Expo. The Council meets regularly and gathers to work to make the community better, according to Thorpe.
“We gather to create events like this or make sure we have interconnected support within our city, so the Council itself values this type of event,” Thorpe explained.
The Expo had minimal cost, at $2 per person and $5 for a family. Thorpe said they are always looking to host events that are either free or as close to free as possible. She said those events can really engage families.
For example, if a group of 15 people came together they would charge the family cost of $5 and give free coupons to schools.
This year there were 38 vendors with everything from MADD to a Petting Zoo by Ole McDale’s and activities with Aerials Gymnastics.
“It’s been a good turnout,” Thorpe said.
Thorpe said that the ultimate goal was to highlight organizations that work with and support children and families. These include the Prince Albert Literacy Network, KidsFirst and the Prince Albert Early Childhood Intervention Program (ECIP).
“Then we also invite some of our local superheroes, like the ambulance and the fire department to participate,” Thorpe said.
Children could also receive a free comic book if they dressed as a superhero. There was also face painting, healthy snacks and many giveaways to take home.
Thorpe, who also works for the Prince Albert Literacy Network, said the expo also lets people know about the many assets for families in Prince Albert.
“It’s just key and important for us to be able to get our organization names out there because families don’t always know what the Literacy network does,” she explained. “This is just one way of gathering families and doing that, and a great kind of spring thing.
“It’s just super exciting to have families and to watch them interact with their kids,” she added. “It is definitely the work of a lot of organizations coming together.”
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
