Be ready to dig into your pocket for the "priviledge" of entering the exhibition grounds.
Not in my life time....

$5 is hardly highway robbery for what many people consider to be a very educational and entertaining way to spend a Saturday afternoon!
Forest Expo contributes millions to the local economy. Try and get a hotel room here right now. Restaurants are packed. Cabs are busy. So please, don't smack Forest Expo, and if you don;t go, it's your loss.

It's a trade fair. If one is not into forestry, why go?

This is for those who want to see the latest log processor which falls a tree, delimbs it, processes 2 bys from it and spits out pellets in bags from the residue.

Go see John Rogers chainsaw carving, in person. Go see the live logging demonstration in the city's backyard, where mountain pine beetle infected trees are being removed. Or take a few logger sports in.

What is the problem here? Why are some people so negative about Forest Expo? It's not like anyone is saying you MUST go. Besides, Forest Expo brings millions of dollars to the local economy, so to the naysayers, if you think there's nothing there, if you think $5 is too much, then don;t go.

There are thousands of people who by the end of Saturday who will have gone through the Forest Expo gates. On Friday alone, more than 5,000 came through the gates. You will not have been missed!

Oh and by the way - Pellet plants do not take residue from the landing. The materials used for pellet manufacturing are gathered from the sawmilling process, not harvesting. No trees are harvested for the sole purpose of producing pellets. For one thing, it would not be cost effective.

For my part of this discussion I was merely trying to point out that I think Forest Expo is a trade show not a local exhibition for the general public like the annual "home shows". I also think that it will only grow BETTER if it responds to the needs of the exhibitors first and foremost.

Two different associations I have been involved with over the years have had a booth at Forest Expo and its predecessor, PG Forestry Exhibition. I have manned them on occasion. I have also attended trade shows in Vancouver, Vernon, Kamloops, Chicago, Toronto, Las Vagas, Reno, and Salt Lake City.

At Forest Expo, as well as at the other BC venues, we were trying to sell a service. In all other locations we were interested in buying products and services and were looking to see what new directions there were in the area of interest.

In the case of Vancouver, Toronto, and the USA cities, there was no one allowed into the trade shows. It was exactly what the words say: "trade show", a show for those who are in the trade being exhibited.

Those who are exhibitors at such shows spend tens of thousands, and in some cases hundreds of thousands of dollars to come to a location where they know they have a captive audience interested in their products and they can make a connection which could end in a sale, if not a sale on the spot. As crass as it may sound, they are there for no other purpose. It is a once a year central meeting place to which they invite all their regular clientele and possible new clients. In fact, the good ones set up appointments for personal "shows" specifically prepared for the client's needs.

Having people from the local community who are "gawkers" is not in their interest and takes away from the precious 2 or 3 days they have invested to do the best presentation of their product for as many of their clients, both old and new, as possible.

Some examples.

Here's a candy expo in Chicago - 20,000 delegates; no public; this is for people in the business only. http://www.allcandyexpo.com

Here is another one with 20,000 delegates for those dealing with communication technology http://www.globalcomm2006.com

Here's one for graphic arts; 40,000 "professional" attendees. http://www.gasc.org

Here is the forest Expo page which speaks to the exhibitors and how they can prepare themselves in order to wisely use the time and space in which they have invested.
http://forestexpo.bc.ca/default.asp?NewsID=28&NavBarID=13&SideBarID=36

Here is a “consumer show” in Toronto which has segregated days for professionals and the general public. http://www.interiordesignshow.com/2006/admission/index.php?section=admission


Finally read the words on the Elmia Wood page. Elmia Wood is considered to be the largest Forestry Trade show in the world.

“EXHIBITORS wanted to reduce the proportion of machine-interested visitors from the general public, and instead FOCUS THEIR RESOURCES ON POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS. One of the measures was to reduce free tickets, which automatically led to fewer but more motivated visitors. The measure did not have much of an impact on the attendance figures. 50,050 DIFFERENT visitors were recorded in the course of the four fair days." http://www.elmia.se/wood