NorthwestMarch 23, 2012

Event scheduled for casino venue this weekend failed to attract enough vendors

The Lewis Clark Valley Chamber of Commerce has pulled the plug on its outdoor show, but hopes to bring it back under a different format.

Chamber President Kristin Kemak said as of last month, the show had attracted only 30 vendors, about half the target goal. Instead of holding a lackluster event that threatened to disappoint vendors, the public and main sponsor ATK, she said organizers decided about a month ago to cancel the show.

"Our responsibility is not only to the sponsor, but to our own financial well-being and to the vendors who have registered thus far. Rightfully, they expect a high level of traffic at the shows they take the time to attend, and with such a small group of vendors, we don't feel that the public attendance level would have been enough to make it worthwhile," Kemak said.

The show was to be at the Clearwater River Casino this weekend.

The chamber also decided to scrap its annual Valley Business Showcase event. The two events aren't dead, but instead will be merged into a new show planned for Oct. 5-6.

"We said lets take these two events and work them together so it is of more interest to the community and more interest to the vendors," she said. "We are looking for something with a little more flavor."

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The nature of the merged show is still evolving.

"We are trying to keep it closely guarded until we can say 'this is what is going to happen.' "

The chamber conducted its first outdoor show in 2009.

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Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2273. Follow him on Twitter @ezebarker.

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