Dryden’s home and leisure expo is back in full after three lean years.
The event takes place at the Dryden Memorial Arena on Friday and Saturday.
Dryden District Chamber of Commerce manager Crystal Hale calls 2023, “the great comeback.”
She said after the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the 2020 and 2021 shows and regional flooding affected turn out at last year’s expo, it’s really good to be back to normal.
"We have all sorts of exhibitors coming. We have them coming from Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Kenora, Fort Frances and the surrounding areas,” she said. “We will be exhibiting campers, boats side by side all of that fun stuff you'd expect to see at a leisure show.”
Hale said one company that will make a first-time appearance at the expo is a local business debuting their food truck.
Crooked Arrow Catering was started by husband and wife, Tommy Lee and Nikki Whiteley a few years ago. Lee said it was a chance encounter that led them to try this new venture.
“We went to buy our fishing licenses and another business owner in town from Indian Point camp asked us if we were interested in buying a food truck and it all kind of went from there,” he said.
Lee said at the expo they will debut with a basic menu of burgers, chicken burgers, veggie burgers, and steak sandwiches.
He said much of the ingredients and product they’ll use are sourced locally from area businesses like produce, wild rice, meat, and coffee.
Lee said their announcement of the food truck was very well received on social media.
“I feel like around the community people are excited,” he said.
Hale said people are looking forward to the expo, especially in a smaller community like Dryden.
“It gives everybody an opportunity to get out and get together and kind of see what businesses Dryden has to offer and surrounding area,” she said. “You get people from outside coming in for the show.”
She said she hopes to see people from closer communities like Red Lake, Sioux Lookout, Fort Frances, Ignace and Kenora.
