13th annual provincial wholesale craft show and conference to be held March 18-20

The 13^th Annual Provincial Craft Trade Show and Marketing Conference will begin Saturday, March 18, at the Holiday Inn in St. John�s. The show will feature 44 exhibitors of high quality Newfoundland and Labrador craft and attracts over 100 wholesale buyers from across the province.

"The Provincial Craft Trade Show and Marketing Conference provides opportunities for the craft industry in Newfoundland and Labrador to both sell products and to attend many of the professional development seminars offered during the conference," said Kathy Dunderdale, Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development, the department organizing and sponsoring the trade show and conference. "The craft industry provides thousands of jobs to the people of this province, particularly in rural areas, and events such as this one allow us to continue to develop the industry."

The conference�s opening dinner will feature guest speaker Linda Bartlett, chair of Mountain Equipment Co-op. Exhibitor seminars are scheduled for Saturday and cover wholesaling, building a relationship with retailers, packaging your product and Internet marketing. Buyer seminars on Sunday and Monday include information on building a better store image and retail marketing.

Two awards will be presented this year - Best Booth and the Heather Stone Award for Best New Product. The Heather Stone Award is in memory of a former Innovation, Trade and Rural Development employee and craft industry leader who died last year after a courageous battle with cancer. The awards will be presented during an awards dinner on Sunday evening.

The craft industry provides employment to more than 2,000 people in Newfoundland and Labrador and is worth an estimated $38 million annually.

Media contact: Lynn Evans, Communications, (709) 729-4570, 690-6290

2006 03 17                                                      9:30 a.m.