On Saturday Feb. 25, the annual Huntley Chamber Home and Business Expo was held in Marlowe Middle School.

The business expo was organized by the Huntley Area Chamber of Commerce and gave citizens a chance to browse local businesses as well as Huntley organizations. All were conveniently situated in one building.

The Huntley expo allows local businesses to set up appointments with possible consumers and allowing them to make their products known first hand to Huntley residents.

Similarly, attendees of the expo can participate in giveaways, receive coupons and free merchandise and are given a choice of dining either from Subway, Culver’s or Tropical Smoothie Café.

“They do a good job of putting this together,” said Susan Dunlap, citizen of Huntley who has attended the expo for the past four years. “It gives citizens a chance to see new businesses and is good support for the community.”

The Huntley expo featured 112 businesses and held 136 booths giving new businesses, such as Zumba Fitness, a chance to promote themselves.

“To be involved in the expo is extremely important to network and meet future consumers,” said Ivette Garven, entrepreneur of Zumba Fitness. “So far quite a bit of interest has been shown.”

Although this is only the second year the expo has been located in Marlowe Middle School due to its vast size, when compared to the Huntley Park District and the high school, a larger crowd of audience was drawn.

By 12 in the afternoon, 736 visitors had already attended the expo and Rita Slaweck, president of the chamber, estimated that their initial goal of 3000 visitors would be reached.

“The turnout will be much better this year since people remember the location,” said Slaweck. “I expect the number to increase throughout the day.”

The Huntley chamber has been organizing the expo since September. This year they received assistance from the Huntley Jaycee’s, a Huntley organization meant to aid the community, with organization and traffic.

The Huntley expo featured a range of businesses from home appliances to Huntley organizations such as the Huntley fire department and the Village of Huntley.

The expo allows Huntley organizations to receive first hand feedback from residents.

“We have gotten positive feedback,” said Dave Johnson, village manager. “The expo is a good opportunity to hear from them.”

The Huntley Chamber Home and Business Expo will continue tomorrow, Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m..