Thank you, to all exhibitors, suppliers, presenters and support staff for contributing to a smooth move-in leading up to the 2pm Preview Day opening.

 

In yesterday's newsletter, we shared the escalating activity on our social media channels. We encourage you to join the conversation, using #TOBoatShow, tweeting, retweeting, posting and sharing. This greatly expands the reach of the show and your business.

 

We wish you much success over the next nine days!

 

Please don't hesitate to contact a member of our team if there is anything we can do to assist!

Special appearances (January 12-14) by stand-up paddleboard enthusiast Brenda Lowe of Survivor and Baywatch movie fame, and our partnership with Mercy Ships Canada to raise awareness and donations for the world's largest volunteer-run hospital ship, continue to garner strong media attention for the 2018 Toronto Boat Show.

 

For Friday's Media Day and in-studio interviews, Canadian Captain Mark Carew, who has just returned from a life-saving mission by Mercy Ships in Cameroon, and celebrity, philanthropist, and boat lover Joan Kelley Walker (star of the Real Housewives of Toronto) promoted this important program.

 

Media Day participation included:

• Breakfast Television Live-Eye - Host Adam Wylde went wakeboarding for one of the segments

• Global Morning in-studio with Mercy Ships

• Global News - Susan Hay interview with Mercy Ships 

• OMNI News nationally in (Italian, Mandarin, Cantonese, Punjabi)

• Zoomer Media and Television

• InnerSpace

• Etalk

• Q107

• 102.1 The Edge

• AM640 - (2) Interviews with Mercy Ships and Brenda Lowe

• Sirius XM Radio Canada

• The Peak 95.1

• Best Health Magazine

• OMNI Focus - Mandarin in-studio interview with June Wan, the first Chinese woman to sail around the world

 

Click here to also see the Canadian Yachting article posted online this morning, promoting the partnership of Mercy Ships and the Toronto Boat Show.

The Buy a Boat & Win program returns as an important tool to help close the sale. An added incentive for the consumer to buy at the show, this program offers the boat-buyer the chance to enter to win $10,000 toward the cost of his or her boat purchased at the show - however large or small!

 

Ballots are completed at point of purchase, with either the dealer or consumer dropping the ballot off at the Show Office (Salon 103). Each day, a draw awards $100 to a dealer who sold a boat that day.

 

The program also gathers boat sales statistics for business stories, providing positive exposure for the industry.

Thank you to Canadian Hydrographic Service, sponsor of this year's Show Map Navigation signs.

 

Located in key positions throughout the show, the signs feature a large colour-coded show map, pinpointing locations of  exhibitor booths, product categories, and show features and services. 

Located adjacent to Mariner's Marketplace, the Food Truck Court continues to be a social hub of the show, with an eclectic mix of food, beverages, live entertainment, exhibitors and special features, including:

• Great Canadian Fish Tank

• Kids Fishing Zone

• Twiggy the Waterskiing Squirrel

• NEW - Water Fill Station

 

Floor stickers help guide boaters to the Food Truck Court.

Located in Salon 102 (just west of the Show Office), the Exhibitor Lounge offers a quiet break from the show, FREE internet service, a microwave for your use, soup, salad, sandwiches, a hot dish of the day, and a selection of beverages.

 

Today's hot dish is meat lasagna with garlic bread for $14.50. 

 

View today's menu. 

 

Note: Door 29 is the new Exhibitor Lounge entrance in the Industry Building. 

 

Thank you to our 2018 sponsors: Wells Fargo and Boatdealers.ca.

If an emergency requiring paramedics arises, please alert any of the following and explain the location.  

We will radio paramedics and direct them to the location. 

 

If the situation is non-urgent, you can also direct the individual to the Show Office (Salon 103), where paramedics can meet them.