Leaner trade show takes participants around Iqaluit

This year’s Nunavut Trade Show and Conference is on the move, in more ways than one.

A pared down version of the annual event is scheduled to run Sept. 15 to 18, with many events taking place at the Aqsarniit hotel ballroom instead of the Arctic Winter Games arena, where it usually is held.

It also includes excursions to various locations around Iqaluit, including the deepsea port and Ampere, which runs the city’s Makerspace.

The trade show is put on each year by the Baffin Regional Chamber of Commerce.

“There are a couple of challenges involved in that for us, the first being that we don’t have quite as large areas as we normally would,” executive director Tony Rose said of the move to the hotel.

The trade show portion of the event will feature approximately 60 exhibitors and is trimmed down to two days, versus the usual three. The booths will be open Wednesday afternoon through Thursday morning.

The Nunavut Trade Show and Conference starts Monday with a meet-and-greet and pre-registration.

It continues Tuesday with various events, including a keynote speech from Qiqiktani Inuit Association secretary-treasurer Adamee Itorcheak, a seminar on operational security, and a bonfire at Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park, weather permitting.

The booths open Wednesday, along with two planned excursions. The event ends Thursday with the trade show opening to the public, an Iqaluit city tour and a gala dinner.