For the fourth straight year, the Sea to Sky Family Fair is invading the CN Roundhouse Centre at the West Coast Heritage Railway Park and this time local "homepreneurs" are getting a little love.
Event organizer Kay Protheroe said there's always been interest from the smaller, home-based business community for the fair and this year organizers are inviting nine of those businesses to the fair. The businesses will be featured in a special section and are eligible to win a prize package.
"We called it 'homepreneurs' and not mompreneurs because we didn't want to leave the dads out," she said, laughing. "There will be a section for all the homepreneurs and fair attendees can check out all the businesses and vote on their favourite one. The prize packages are for the homepreneurs themselves and we encourage people to come out, participate and have fun with it."
Protheroe said organizers paired with their sister show, North Vancouver's Modern Family Expo, to select 12 homepreneur businesses from Squamish to be featured at the fair.
The businesses are Squish Skin Care, Sea to Sky Babies, Abi's Accessories, Nature's Way Holistic Health, Standout Boutique, Shining Goddess Clearing, Within a Woman Doula, Martina Jean Page Jewelry Art Design and Living Proof Nutrition. There will also be three from the Modern Family Expo.
The winning business will receive a prize package including home/office organization, business coaching, yoga sessions and dinner catering.
Protheroe said it made sense to spotlight the growing group of local businesses.
"We wanted to feature them and we want to do more of that as we move forward," she said. "Of course we want the established businesses but we also want the little guys."
She said Squamish seems to be a great spot for homepreneurs to set up shop.
"I think it's because Squamish is such a fantastic place to live but there's not necessarily that industrial base here where you can go out and get job - so you really have to make it yourself," she said. "The people who come to Squamish have that adventure spirit so they're more likely to want to do it on their own."
But it's not all about the homepreneurs. Par-T-Perfect is back with a kids' fun zone, the Lions Barbecue is back and there is a Strider bike adventure zone.
"We will be setting up an obstacle course so that the little guys can come and try the bikes out," Protheroe explained.
Ventriloquist Neale Bacon will provide live entertainment for the young and young at heart.
"He's a ventriloquist with all these crazy critter puppets," Protheroe said. "He's going to be doing two shows and it's going to be neat to have something different this year."
The fair will feature more than 40 different booths this year and Protheroe said they moved the date from September to October to avoid competing with some of the sunny days of the late summer.
The event has an admission charge of $2 and is free for all children under the age of two. It all goes down on Saturday, Oct. 19, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the CN Roundhouse Centre.
For more information on the fair, visit www.seatoskyfair.ca.
