Hundreds of people turned out last weekend for the 7th South Cariboo Women’s Fair.
The celebration of women and women in business got started in style Friday night with 200 women at a wine-and-cheese. The next day, an estimated 550 people visited the event, organized by South Cariboo Rec Centre, to check out the wares of 45 vendors.
Booths included everything from nutrition to romance, homecare, jewelry, candles, haircare, photography, beauty products, local teas and foods. Those adventurous enough could even get a Tarot reading by Tess in a booth shrouded in black or sign up for Zumba or belly dancing lessons.
“It went really, really well,” said organizer Shelly Morton, noting vendors came from as far away as Kamloops and Fraser Lake. “We were really thrilled with that. It was a great turnout.”
She said she was impressed with the variety of vendors, which included a lot of returning members from past years. “People were emailing me all weekend,” she said. “They really enjoyed the wine-and-cheese event.”
LeAnne Doucette, of Baladi Babes Belly Dance Performance Troupe, said they were happy to be performing again after a two-year hiatus during COVID-19.
“For a first-time event after not having it run for a couple of years, I thought they did just a great job organizing it,” Doucette said. “I was really pleased to see who came out.”
Emma Hull, a life coach with Life Untethered who spoke Saturday morning, said she was happy to be back in the Cariboo, where she had lived for eight years. At the time she was working in government in Williams Lake and was “miserable” because she was living a life that she thought she should be leading.
“I’d be crying all the way to work,” she said.
A life coach convinced her it was ok to be unhappy. She ditched her marriage, the overseas vacations and the toys, and moved to a simple life in the Kootenays. Now she’s working to help others find their bliss.
“It was really fun,” she said. “After my talk several people came up and said it really touched them and gave them hope and inspiration.”
Morton said they are already getting ready for next year when the event is slated for May 5-6.
“We will start planning late fall,” she said. “I just want to thank everyone for coming out.”
kelly.sinoski@100milefreepress.net
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