Around 500 people stopped by the Weyburn Agricultural Society's Exhibition Hall for RONA Weyburn's Spring Home Show and Networking Event on Thursday. It featured more than 40 booths and 60 vendors with truckloads of samples and personnel from all of their suppliers, as well as representatives from some of Weyburn's non-profit organizations, complementary businesses, and the City of Weyburn.
"We were doing a rough count through the door, and then based on the amount of food we went through, raffle items, we were over 500 people, so it was an amazing turnout," shared RONA Owner Jeff Chessall. "We were hoping for 400, so we're well over a hundred extra at least, if not more, and that was like a quick count, so we'll get a better count once we go through all our raffle items and make a list."
He said either way, they gave out over 400 RONA buckets, which were an easy way for visitors to carry all the swag available at the event.
"Everyone can use a bucket for anything, I guess, right? There's always a use for a bucket. If you have a grocery bag, they go in the corner with the rest, versus a bucket. It goes a long way."
Chessall said the vendors were happy with the event.
"The vendors loved it. They were impressed overall. They were very happy with the traffic, it exceeded what they expected, and they're pretty much all signed up again already for next year. We have some new vendors that weren't here, but happened to stop in and see the event, so we should hit over 60 next year."
He said the busiest times of the day during the 12-hour event were during the hot dog lunch and burger supper.
"That's what we anticipated. Great crowds, great community support, which is awesome. On top of that, the store was busy. We were run off our feet at the actual store, so they would come here, go there, buy things, come back, so that was great."
Today, they'll be packing up 16 truck loads to take back to the store, which will be a little easier this year as, after a few years of being held at a private location, this was the first year the event was held in Weyburn.
"It was worthwhile having it here, just making it more centralized, and I'll talk to the Ag Society to get next year booked," noted Chessall.
For a two-week period around the event, RONA's vendors offer discounts ranging from five to 20 per cent off all their products for contractors or homeowners.
"I'll start getting that posted to social media, and start pushing all the deals," he said. "We have a lot of follow-up. We had over 50 names alone that I've got to follow up with over the next couple days, with just very specific things."
Chessall said the not-for-profit organizations in attendance were also glad to be there, with the Weyburn Humane Society selling plenty of tickets for their 2025 Jeep Compass North 4x4 raffle, the Weyburn Theatre Community Service Cooperative handing out popcorn and speaking with the public about their plans for the future Spark Cinema, and the Richardson Pioneer Weyburn Red Wings selling more tickets before making the draw for their golf cart raffle.
While the food was free, donations were collected, resulting in a few hundred dollars for the Weyburn Humane Society.
He added there were around 80 people at the hall by the time the evening wrapped up around midnight. Vans for safe rides home for the 19+ event were provided by Barber Motors.
