The 10th annual Cariboo Women's Fair attracted another crowd of South Cariboo attendees.
The fair, which took place at the South Cariboo Rec Centre, celebrated women's health and wellness, business and creativity. Over 94 different vendors and community groups took part this year.
One of them was Jess Thomas, the owner of Revelry Arts and Dance, who participated in the wine and cheese night on Friday, May 3, stating that she heard there were unlimited amounts of cheese.
"The vibe is so fun on Fridays because they turn the lights down low, and people just feel very chatty. And like the demonstrations, there's a lot of energy." Thomas said. Thomas said that the POUND fitness demo was one of her favourite parts of the wine and cheese night.
"The reason I'm bringing that up is because she had a demo, and you get these drumsticks, like quarter-pound drumsticks. And she leads you through a whole song where you're hitting the drumsticks on each other and hitting them on the floor. And it was just very lively."
On Saturday, there was live entertainment from Raising the Barre Academy of Dance, Tracy Lynn, Mystique Belly Dancers, as well as a Thai massage demo that occurred on the GingerBark Day Spa booth. Thomas said that she often felt nervous about being in fairs, so she decided to paint art.
"I was facing the booth next to me, so then people could look at the art without feeling pressured to talk to me. It felt like a good turnout, though. It felt like the conversations I did have were really positive, and the connections I made were still good," Thomas explained.
Piri de Vries, who owns and operates Rainbow Spirit, which offers therapeutic healing and is based out of Bridge Lake, said she liked the fact that there were more health-oriented businesses at the fair this year.
"I do remember five years ago, there were maybe me and another one," de Vries said. In addition, she praised the organisation before the event, calling it "very good."
de Vries said that connecting with people was her favourite part of the event.
Thomas says she is glad to have been a part of the Cariboo Women's Fair, stating it had been a big thing for her.
"It was really cool to make connections with people we could collaborate with in the future," Thomas concluded.
