Jan. 23—A circus-themed business expo will be held all day Wednesday at Downstream Casino Resort.
Business-to-business hours for the annual Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce expo are 9 a.m. to noon. Admission is free with a business card. The business-to-consumer hours are from noon to 4 p.m. Admission for that is $5, but children age 5 and younger get in free.
This is the 31st year for the expo. Space for exhibitors sold out this year, with more than 100 businesses attending, said Erin Slifka, director of marketing and communications for the chamber.
There are also several new businesses that have never exhibited before. Slifka said the chamber is expecting more than 1,300 visitors for the one-day event.
"The business expo is a great opportunity for people to build connections with each other and the community," Slifka said. "It's a way to get reintroduced to businesses who are established in our area but also introduced to some of those who are new to the market."
Slifka said the decision to change from a two-day expo to a single-day event was done to make it a positive experience for both exhibitors and visitors. Having the expo on one day should streamline the experience.
She also said businesses go all out with decorations and dressing up for the theme. This year, the theme is "Under the Big Top."
"When you have a circus, you're bringing everyone together in one room," Slifka said. "It's about community and supporting each other. In a circus, there's different players, but we all play an important role in our business community."
Preparing for the expo Tuesday afternoon, Stormi Nordstrom decorated a table for The Independent Living Center with a circus train hauling animal crackers and circus peanuts. Nordstrom is the director of payroll and billing at the center, 2639 E. 34th St.
The center opened in Joplin in 1995 and provides services to individuals with disabilities, Nordstrom said.
The center has been at the expo for close to 20 years, and Nordstrom is part of the expo committee. She said she appreciates the networking at the expo and the chance to get the center's message to new people, and has always gotten good referrals from the event.
"We're kind of one of those businesses that you don't know about us until you need us," Nordstom said. "So the more we keep our name out there, the better off we are, and hopefully, we can help some people in their time of need."
Across the convention hall, Brooke Schuster was putting the finishing touches on the Née Spa booth. Located inside the Downstream Casino Resort, the full-service spa offers such things as massages, body wraps and scrubs, and sauna services.