Stowsentry.com - Chamber planning for April's Community Showcase

by Andree Niswander

Reporter

Stow -- This year's Stow-Munroe Falls Community Showcase will take place April 12 and 13, and planning for the event is well under way.

Sponsored by the Stow-Munroe Falls Chamber of Commerce, the cities of Stow and Munroe Falls and Stow-Munroe Falls City Schools, the 11th bi-annual showcase should be the best one yet, thanks to teamwork, said showcase Chairperson Karen Monbeck.

"We have the best [showcase] in the area, hands down," she said. "It's because we have the cooperation of the city, schools and Chamber."

Set to take place in the high school, the event is free to the public and will feature booths occupied by businesses and organizations from Stow, Munroe Falls and surrounding communities.

For interested exhibitors, booths are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

"But it's best to get your application in ASAP, because they always sell out," said Monbeck.

The 60-square-foot spaces are available to Chambermember businesses for $200 and non-members for $400. Booths for Chambermember non-profit organizations cost $60, while non-members must pay $100.

With approximately 10,000 people and nearly 200 exhibitors historically attending, the showcase is good for participants and for the public alike, said Monbeck.

"For people who live in the community ... it's great to be able to talk to these [businesses], without paying for anything," she said.

In addition to booths, the showcase will offer a variety of attractions, from exhibitor giveaways and door prize drawings to all-day entertainment, live radio coverage and food sold by Joshua's Cafe, a restaurant within the high school that is completely student operated under the direction of vocational program instructors.

Awards also will be presented to booths voted Best of Show in the three categories of businesses, organizations and sponsors.

The showcase is intended to bring community members and businesses together, said Monbeck.

"It's free," she said. "You can find out what's going on in the community and who's doing what."

Booth space applications are available on the Chamber's Web site at www.smfcc.com. For more information, call the Chamber at 330-688-1579.

E-mail: aniswander@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-686-3947