Love Local Expo returns to Peterborough

It’s been only a few weeks since Laurie Pezzack put on her dog walking shoes.

“I’ve been in business about a month and half. I launched in August,” said Pezzack, the owner of Adventure Tails.

Pezzack was one of the newest businesses at the Evinrude Centre Wednesday during the annual Love Local Expo. The day featured 90 businesses from the Peterborough area.

“I think it’s important for people to get to know you, because if they know you and like you, they’re going to trust you with their precious pets,” she said with a laugh.

“I think a lot of people sell us a little short on our resources. They don’t realize all the things you can get locally,” said Tiffany Arcari of the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce. “Today is all about local businesses in Peterborough. It’s about nurturing the economy. It’s about getting the word out about what’s here in Peterborough, what we have, and just making connections in the community.”

Those businesses come from every sector, whether you’re looking to green things up, or maybe just toughen up.

“We’ve been around town for 45 years plus, the oldest club in Peterborough. It’s just nice to finally get out a little bit,” said John McCallum, head instructor at Jiyu-shin Karate School.

While the event offers business owners a chance to network, it offers some entreprenuers a chance to show off their wares.

Gideon Trudell, with LR Brown Audio and Visual LTD, was showing off the company’s smart board technology.

“A lot of people are aware of smart boards and interactive boards, but they’ve never been able to see one in action. So we did this table set up so we could show people how easy it is to use,” Trudell said.

“One of the reasons that we’re here today is to show that we do corporate gifting, so if you have staff or employees and you want to do a local gift, we can offer that as well, so it’s been great to meet some of those other companies,” said Lesley Pocklington, the driving force behind Swell Made Co.