By Michele Gillis
Staff Writer
The Realtor Builder Tradeshow always is a work in progress and this year’s co-chairs, Amanda Dandy of Prudential Network Realty and Donald Ster of Wells Fargo, have tweaked the October 21 event to add their ideas.
“People should come to the event to be informed, educated and to get revitalized through visiting the booths and the networking opportunities,” said Ster. “The entertainment, food, low cost and networking are all reasons to show up.”
In the recent past, since the full lunch was changed to appetizers, food was limited and sometimes even ran out. So, they’ve brought in more vendors and spread out the times they serve.
“We decided to keep the price at $10 and just up the amount of food available,” said Dandy.
In the morning, samples from Dunkin Donuts, 3 Sisters Chocolate, Chick-fil-A and Mimi’s Café will be available from 9-11:30 a.m.
The noon-3 p.m. vendors will be Tidbits, Grill Billy’s, Heirlooms and Taste!
In addition, the UNF cafe will be open if someone wants something more substantial.
The program locations have changed. Past speakers were sometimes hard to hear so the programs are in a separate area, which also frees up more space on the main floor.
This year’s speakers are Wally Conway on “Going Green Construction” at 9:30 a.m., Renaissance Creative on “Social Networking” at 10:30 a.m. and Laura McInnis on “Home Managers and Staging” at 11:30 a.m.
There will also be a costume contest and a booth contest during the event. In addition, there will also be a $500 cash prize chosen from attendees who visit all booths.
There will be live music and entertainment during the event.
“Because it’s a Renaissance theme, we are having colorful costuming and entertainment,” said Dandy. “We are even having a castle wall as the entrance and a stockade where people can put their heads if they’ve been naughty.”
That entertainment includes singers, jugglers, acrobats and mimes.
“The idea is to make it like a Renaissance street fair or marketplace,” said Ster.