Wellness EXPO in Hayward, WI is a big success!

The lady who owns the Jack Pine Rock Shop in Hayward, WI told me about it in early July. I had left business cards and  Richard Gordon’s lecture CDs in various places in that busy resort town earlier in the summer, and had talked to the owners of the rock shop, the health-food store, and various other places in town, about Quantum Touch.  So when I popped back into the rock shop, she recognized me.  I have family in the area and frequently shop in Hayward.

“It’s official,” she said.  “There will be a Wellness Expo here in Hayward some time in October. I am going to be an exhibitor.  Would you be interested in exhibiting too?” I told her Yes indeed, I was interested, and asked if she would  send me information as it became available.  Late in August, info began arriving from the organizers of the event.  It sounded great, so in early September, I signed up, and began to think about what I would offer.  Here in the upper Midwest, the Edge Newspapers and Edge Life Expos folks organize a variety of events for seniors, for various   alternative therapies, wellness, Faires, etc. which are well-publicized, well-organized, and draw big crowds.  I received regular email updates about the event, which were very helpful.

By October 1st, I had uploaded a QT logo from the Practitioner’s Info directly to my local Kinko’ s,  (very easy to do)  and Kinko’s had my beautiful sign all done the very next morning.  It is 24 by 24 inches, logo on foamboard, coated with a very hard high-gloss plastic which makes it durable and very attractive.  I obtained a Winsor-Newton portable collapsible black aluminum easel on sale at Dick Blick Art Supply to hold the sign.  The easel can be made any height, so can be used on the floor or on a tabletop to display the sign, depending on what you need at any given time.  These two items are one-time expenses, if I can avoid sitting on the sign!  Ha ha ha.

Next I prepared handouts to be given from my booth.  “Principles Of Quantum-Touch® ”   was printed two copies to a sheet, to save paper.  “Quantum Touch® Info Sheet” with my contact info and brief bio was the other handout.  I created a sign to advertise Demo QT Sessions, and another “How To Learn QT” and put them both into nice clear plastic sign-holders.  I packed the box of Richard’s QT Introductory Lecture CDs, a nice colored cloth for my table, my tall wood stool, Kleenex, business cards, one Vogel crystal, a clipboard, paper and pens for people to request further information, index cards for me to record my sessions, my cameras, some hand-wipes, my personal stuff including snack and water for the 4.5 hour drive to Hayward, and off I went.

The Hayward Ramada was the venue, and booths were to be set up on Friday late afternoon.  There were 50 exhibitors, so this was a nice-size expo for a first venture, not one of those huge convention-center affairs.  The people doing healing work were grouped in one ballroom, and persons selling goods were in the other ballroom.  This was a nice touch, because the room with healing practitioners was a bit quieter than the other room, where there was a stage and performers and announcements going on.

The line of people waiting to get in on Saturday morning was 3 blocks long! Never had Hayward seen such an event!  Interest in this was just astounding, for a smaller city in a deep-woods lake and ski area.  Once the floodgates opened, it was a steady stream of very animated, interested folks of all ages, throughout the day.  I hardly had time to catch my breath or get a nature break, and there were NO thoughts of trying for lunch.  I did demo QT sessions much of the day, and every moment not doing sessions was spent answering questions and seeing that the stacks of CDs and literature were adequate.

My main goal in doing this was to get some QT classes going in NW Wisconsin, which is where I lived at one time, had a home, and now have family. I found that there is a lot of interest to get a class or classes organized there, and the effort of collecting names and contacts was certainly fruitful. The vendors/exhibitors were very active also, exchanging cards and information, & groups getting together for a lovely dinner & social hour on Friday evening.  And, I had two exhibitors stop by the booth before the doors opened for the crowd, two who wanted an emergency QT session  --  one for migraine and one for back pain.  Both of those exhibitors had a free session and both said they were greatly improved by the time the doors opened.  (The migraine was gone.)

All in all, the LIVING WELL NORTHWOODS FESTIVAL was a huge success for the town and everyone involved. People came from about a 200 mile radius around Hayward.  I spoke to folks from Duluth, Green Bay, Twin Cities, and Eau Claire at the margins, & two from UP of Michigan.  These events do draw people! I heard nothing but happiness and joy from other vendors, and there were smiles on the faces of the visitors all day long.

I left Hayward at 5 pm, very tired, for the 4.5 hour drive back to Minneapolis.  That is prime deer country, & on the roads I regularly travel up there, I usually see up to 50 deer on a trip, especially around dusk. (I once counted 132.) It’s literally a matter of picking one’s way through the deer.  So I intentionally created a white V-shaped “shield” of energy in front of my Jeep, hoping to warn deer and move them aside as I passed.  For the first time in YEARS on that road, I didn’t see a single deer, and they are there, I could “feel” them!  By the time I reached the suburb where I live, it was full dark night, and I’d let my guard down on the white energy shield in front of me.  One block from home, a big doe sprang out and ran in front of me… a near miss. 

My first Expo, albeit a small one with 50 exhibitors, was a big success in my mind, with all goals achieved.  I broke even on expenses, have signs & materials for “next time,” and will certainly do this again!