Cancellation of Grow Show won?t dampen efforts to re-emerge in 2005
The Presque Isle County Tourism Council is regrouping and looking ahead to 2005 after the cancellation of this year?s ?Grow Show? in Posen. The annual show, which would have been this weekend at the Posen School, was called off because of increasing competition in the region. It would have been the third annual show in Posen.
Alpena, in particular, had established two garden/grow shows in recent years, which were being conducted at or around the same time of the Posen event. The first-ever ?Up North Grow Show? in 2002 attracted 850 guests from as far away as Comins and Flint. The Tourism Council planned to build on the success of the first show, and partnered with local businesses and organizations, vendors, and seminars, but other communities picked up on the idea.
?It?s sad,? said Annette Taratuta of Netta?s. ?It was a nice program.? The cost to the vendors to participate in a number of garden/grow programs over a short period of time, as well as the competition from a larger community, forced organizers to re-evaluate the Posen event. Taratuta talked to a vendor from Ossineke who said she did well in Posen but ??you know you are going to get more (people) in Alpena. People don?t have any idea how much it costs for the vendors to participate.? Participants of the 2002 and 2003 shows were contacted by mail.
Scheduling the show on a weekend that doesn?t conflict with other programs or Easter has proven to be challenging. Kathy Zaborney will be spearheading the effort to re-emerge next year.