What are you doing a year from now? Make a note in your diary now for 22nd to 24th April 2007 for the return of the Aviemore Trade Show.

From 1970 to 2001 the Highland Trade Fair was held at Aviemore. This started off as a show which offered Scottish makers the opportunity to exhibit their products to buyers from Scotland and beyond and was a highly successful event. However, over the years the focus altered until half of the exhibitors were often importers and agencies rather than the designer/makers that the show was originally established for. The organisers would like to get back to basics and offer a show for Scottish exhibitors to show the world what we can do.

Exhibitors, buyers and visitors alike who have experience of the old Aviemore show, particularly in the early years, have very fond memories of it. In the late 1990s the Aviemore Centre became rather run down and as plans were forming to demolish the ice rink, which was the main hall for the show, a decision was made to move the event to the SECC in Glasgow. As the show is now organised by a London based company it is now the same as any other show in the UK. Glasgow lacks the atmosphere that was part of the character of the Highland Trade Fair. In Aviemore, buyers and exhibitors rubbed shoulders and socialised together for the duration of the show. Almost everyone stayed in the village, many in the centre itself, for the duration of the event and there were social occasions organised as part of the event. Aviemore (The Highland Trade Fair) is remembered as the friendly trade show. Now is the time to have a Scottish trade show in the heart of the Highlands.

The Aviemore Centre has now been rebuilt and offers an exhibition hall and all other facilities needed to stage a select trade event for approximately 100 Scottish makers. Macdonald Hotels, owners of the Aviemore Highland Resort are enthusiastic about this event and keen to support efforts to establish a trade show that will offer a shop window for Scottish makers to exhibit their products to buyers from Scotland, other parts of the UK and indeed, the rest of the world. The aim is to attract somewhere in the region of 1,000 buyers to the first show.

The Aviemore Trade Show will be a three day trade event for Scottish makers in the art, craft and gift sectors. It will run from Sunday 22nd to Tuesday 24th April 2007, inclusive. The hall will be set up with a shell-scheme stand system offering various sizes of stand at approx £125 per square metre, making it comparable with similar events elsewhere in the UK. One important aspect of the hall is the huge windows that will not be covered up, so at this show you will be very aware of what the weather is doing outside. Hopefully it will be blue sky and sunshine!

On the Sunday evening there will be a free-of-charge ceilidh to which everyone will be invited. On the Monday evening there will be a six course Highland banquet, for which tickets will be sold.

The most important point is that Aviemore Trade Show are trying to ensure that this show is as different as possible from any other trade show. This will be THE friendly, Scottish event in a stunning location at a time of year that will let buyers recover from the Easter rush and look forward to the summer season. The timing of the show will allow exhibitors to take orders for the summer and beyond. 

The hall is booked, hotel rooms are available at discounted rates within the centre, the website is now online and the organisation are busy organising all the other things needed to run the show. They are trying to raise funding to help them with the marketing of the event and this is where they need your help. The various funding bodies would like to see evidence of the support they will get from both potential exhibitors and buyers. Could you please email Aviemore Trade Show to let them know that you would consider coming to the show as either an exhibitor or a buyer. Could you also please forward this email on to anyone else you think may be interested as a buyer or exhibitor.

Aviemore Trade Show are determined to make this show a fun profitable event for all who get involved in it. They look forward to hearing from you and ultimately seeing you in Aviemore next year.

Contact Gail Steele on gail@aviemoretradeshow.co.uk   or Ruth Black ruth@aviemoretradeshow.co.uk  www.aviemoretradeshow.co.uk