Families in Yellowknife had a chance to explore a variety of resources and products related to pregnancy, birth, and babies at the Multiplex last Saturday.
The Birth and Baby Expo, organized by local retailer Boreal Kids Co., featured 35 vendors, information booths, and activities for children.
“We have everything from nutrition to pregnancy to photographers to baby gear to wooden toys, so a little bit of everything,” said Amy Allan, co-owner of Boreal Kids Co.
She said the expo was a way to provide support and information to people in the early stages of parenthood or growing their families.
The event, which attracted hundreds of people, also featured a bouncy castle, face painting, balloons and snacks to keep the kids entertained while the parents browsed and chatted with vendors.
“We’ve been getting some good feedback,” said Allan. “People are really excited that everyone’s here and they can walk around and meet all these different vendors and all the resources. And then people are really loving the bouncy castle and the play area.”
The expo was free of charge, although donations were welcome to cover the rental fee.
Yellowknife Playschool Association, which runs preschool programs for children aged 2.5-5 years, participated in the event. Janet St. Pierre, a teacher with the association, said they were promoting their programs and networking with other organizations.
“We are learning based on play. We offer opportunities to go outside to explore. We are trying to enrich our program by bringing some of the culture and some of the forest and nature school and programming. We are just early learning and getting kids that structure and readiness for school,” she said. “It’s been great. It’s been an amazing attendance so far. We have an average of three or four families coming every minute. It’s been a great day so far.”
Communities in Motion, a committee under the umbrella of Ecology North that supports multimodal transportation and safer streets, also attended the expo.
Becca Denley, a member of the committee, said they attended the event to educate new parents about the benefits of active modes of transportation, such as walking, biking or taking the bus.
“When you think about new parents and they have new little kids coming out into the world, one of the things that they’re going to start thinking about is how can I keep my kids safe? How am I going to teach my kids how to ride a bike? How do I get them to school in a safe way? What types of modes of transport can I use to get my kids to school?” said Denley.
She said Communities is Motion aspires to help the city find ways to create safer streets by designing them with protected bike lanes and pedestrian corridors while reducing the carbon footprint and fighting climate change.