- Inside the Woman’s Affair - April 23, 2019
- A2- Rodriguez - January 28, 2019
It truly was a Woman’s Affair.
Last weekend, KO productions, a local expo event company, hosted the Fairbanks Woman’s Affair. The expo featured vendors catering to women of all ages, educating them on anything from fashion trends and bubble baths to child and medical care.
When walking into the shopper’s expo, 155 vendors were filed into rows along the 43,000 square foot Carlson Center stadium, where generally there would be an Olympic- size ice rink familiar to Nanook Hockey fans.
Vendors, in
formational booths, and community resources were strategically placed to accommodate varying needs of Fairbanksian women, according to KO Event Coordinator Kourtney Shannon. That extended to the neighboring booths operated by Planned Parenthood and The Castle Mega Store’s intimate apparel and sex-toy collection, both of which were located more privately in a corner towards the back of the hockey rink.
This wasn’t the only coordinated pattern that was seen in the expo. For the most part, informational booths, fashion stores, child-targeted booths and household items were gathered in their own separate areas.
By the time 44-year-old Stacy Story finished her 4-hour shift at the Thriv Alaska booth, she was ready to explore.
“I was just excited in general that Anchorage stores came here,’ Story said. “It brings to light some shops I may have never known of otherwise and gives us more options so everyone isn’t wearing the same thing.’
This year, it was notable that the event had a wide variety of clothing vendors, some coming from outside the Fairbanks area to support the women of Fairbanks. These shops included Anchorage based upscale consignment store, The Boulevard, Fairbank’s Blush Moon Boutique, and more well-known shops such as LuLaRoe.
Story dug through her shopping bags to pull out a tan lace cardigan from The Boulevard. “When I walked in here, I saw this cardigan and as soon I had time to walk around, I went directly to the booth to buy it.’
This Affair included free seminars on finances, health, and minor vehicle maintenance. These hour-long seminars were held by women who were representing companies such as Alaska Center for Natural Medicine, Napa Auto Parts and Life Sprout Chiropractic. Some seminars were educational, others were sale pitches for different products or services. This variety gave women opportunities to explore interests and ask burning questions.
As the Affair winded down on Sunday night, the total attendance reached about 3,300 attendees. Kourtney Shannon said, “The purpose of our event is just really to gather as much information as we can for all of the women in the Fairbanks community.’
Shannon’s goal was a success, at least for 25-year-old Sophia Gonzalez, who left with a bag full of informational packets, some pampered chef products and inspiration to make some baked goods
“I got some cooking stuff and I can’t wait to use them,’ Gonzalez said, “I sampled some sugar cookies in there and decided to bake some soon!’