For the 10th year, seniors in Prince George can access information during a one-stop adventure at the annual British Columbia Northern Exhibition held Thursday, Aug. 18, during Seniors' Day, on the exhibition grounds.
A toonie gets seniors 55 plus through the fair gate and then the western-themed info fair is free in Kin III from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. where more than 50 booths will house organizations and businesses geared for the mature crowd and their caregivers.
"Since this is our tenth year I think we've got it down to a bit of a science now," said Lola-Dawn Fennell, general manager of the Prince George Council of Seniors, which hosts the information fair each year. "A lot of the booths will be familiar to people but we do have a couple of new ones this year."
The Home Equity Bank will provide information about the CHIP reverse mortgage program and the Prince George Heritage Commission will be on hand with news about local history.
The RiverBend Seniors Community and the Oncore Seniors Society, that runs the subsidized portion of the housing facility, will have an information booth for anyone with questions about the complex.
The Christian Seniors of Prince George, a charter member organization of the Prince George Council of Seniors, is new to the information fair this year, too, said Fennell.
"We lost track of each other over the years so I am excited they will be at the fair with us this year," said Fennell.
Project Friendship Society will also be present at the fair as well. The society is a registered charity that was founded in 1989 by Bob Harkins and connects people isolated with various disabilities by encouraging the citizens of Prince George to welcome them into their local associations.
"As always we will be providing the passport to fair goers when they come in," said Fennell, who is expecting about 1,800 people, the same number as last year. "They can go around and collect a stamp, sticker or initial from the different exhibitors and they can also use that passport to vote for their favourite exhibits."
Participants can vote on the best-themed exhibit, the most colourful exhibit, the most interactive, as well as overall favourite.
The idea behind the passports is to get fair goers to stop at booths they might not ordinarily visit to get information, said Fennell.
"So we get them to the booths and it's up to the representatives at that booth to interact with that person," said Fennell. "So we're hoping that there will be a lot of interaction."
Many exhibitors will have free draws at their own tables, while the seniors council will have hourly draws and winners will be chosen from completed passports for prizes donated by exhibitors, like a 32-inch TV, gift baskets, and jewelry.
"At the back of Kin III we will have the Chuckwagon Cafe, in keeping with our western theme, and we'll have coffee, tea, cookies and we're hoping to have sandwiches as well," said Fennell. "So people will have a place to sit and relax."
Carpet bowling demonstrations will once again be available so everyone interested can try their hand at it, she added.
"I'm feeling really good about our tenth year," said Fennell. "And we really couldn't do this without the support from the exhibition organizers."
Businesses and organizations that would like to feature their products and services for a day can still register to participate in the information fair until July 29 by visiting the P.G. Council of Seniors, 721 Victoria St., or call 250-564-5888.
