Expo connects locals and businesses

PEOPLE living in Bannockburn and the wider Golden Plains Shire will have a much clearer picture of where – and how – to find services for their health and wellness needs after this weekend.

On Sunday, Bannockburn healthy smoothies store Blend’d will host the Wellness Expo at the local bowling club to increase awareness of and access to health and wellness professionals in a wide range of disciplines.

The expo, supported by the Shire and the Bannockburn and District Chamber of Commerce, will run from 9am to 1pm and admission will be free.

Blend’d CEO Anne Finch said about 15 stallholders will be present.

Mrs Finch said they are businesses operating in Bannockburn and the shire, are registered in the shire, or whose owners live in the shire with their businesses close by.

“We’ve really tried to keep it local,” she said.

Stallholders will include Mrs Finch’s own Blend’d, psychologists, chiropractors, physiotherapists, dentists, spiritual and aesthetics practitioners, massage and facials providers, fitness recovery, a gymnasium, Hesse Rural Health, Estia Health, a personal trainer, the local Men’s Shed, and a pilates studio.

Mrs Finch said she had never run an event like the expo before.

“We’ve done a lot of networking events – we do a lot of supporting other people in business, we do a lot of competitions, we support local on our Instagram and in our marketing,” she said.

“But we’ve never done an official event; we’ve certainly never done an expo.

“A lot of people don’t know that we have a lot of local businesses in the area, and that’s what hit us really strongly.

“We’ve only been in Bannockburn for a year, and we have a lot of conversations over the (smoothie) bar – we learnt that a lot of people were going into Geelong or were travelling to their appointments, where perhaps they could be getting their services locally.

“There’s a lot of gaps in our conversations where we just don’t know about these businesses, and they’ve been there for 10 or 20 years – but a lot of people who live in the area don’t even know about them.”

Any proceeds from the event will go to the Inverleigh Good Friday Appeal.