WOONSOCKET – Thirty local businesses will be displaying their products and talking about their services during the first Buy Local Expo and Home Show this Saturday, March 9, at the Holiday Inn Express.
The businesses are all part of the Blackstone Valley Independent Business Alliance of nearly 150 members dedicated to promoting community-based entrepreneurship and sharing the word about “their importance to the local economy, culture and social fabric.”
The Holiday Inn is located at 194 Fortin Drive, off Route 122, near the Cumberland-Woonsocket line.
The show will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Mike Cournoyer of Cumberland Landscaping is chairman of this expo and describes it as a family event – for both the businesses involved and consumers who attend.
“This is a real nice, nice group of people,” he says of the exhibitors.
“We all want the small businesses to succeed in our area,” he said. “They lend the personal touch. They’ll share information about how to manage projects, how to fix things, how to save money.
“Come and talk to us and we’ll give you ideas,” he urges.
He notes that the exhibitor list ranges from gift shops, a travel agent and TV store, to the more practical homeowner needs of insurance, lumber and flooring merchants.
There’s no admission charge to the expo but plan to fill out coupons for the raffles that will be offered throughout the day.
Breakfast and lunch will also be available, with the C’est Bon bakery of Woonsocket serving up coffee and pastries in the morning and the Patriot Diner, also of Woonsocket, handling lunch.
Entertainment will be provided by Rick’s Music of Cumberland.
And WNRI radio will be broadcasting from the expo all morning.
Exhibitors will include Cumberland Landscaping, The Valley Breeze, Pepin Lumber, Little General Store, Jr’s Driving School, Roland RV, Annie B’s, C’est Bon, The Tole Booth, Bellingham Electric, Sharon Gevin of Mary Kay, Northern Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce.
Also, T.H. Malloy Sons oil company, Blais Insurance, Rick’s Music, Elizabeth Shoppe, Countertops by Superior, Inferno Audio, Travel Advisors International, Fore Court, Patriot Computer, Patriot Diner, Ameri-Pooch.
Also, Pine Swamp Gifts, Taper Candles, The Woonsocket Call, P.T. Floor Covering, BM Printing, EZ Dump Truck Bodies, American Beauty Signworks, Above Beyond Tree Service.
BVIBA members are part of a nationwide movement to encourage consumers to keep their dollars in the local economy, rather than chain stores, to recycle “a much larger share of revenue back into the local economy, enriching the whole community.”
For more information about the organization, see the website at www.buylocalbv.org .
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