Thousands of reptile enthusiasts enjoyed the inaugural Cascadia Reptile Expo in Vancouver at the RV Inn Style Resorts Convention Center last weekend.
The two-day event acted as a precursor to the much larger Hillsboro, Oregon, show that is put on by the Pacific Northwest Reptile and Exotic Animal Show group in April. Jeff Hoffman, director of operations for the Cascadia Reptile Expo, was looking forward to engaging with the Southwest Washington crowd, he said ahead of the show.
“We’re based in Southwest Washington, but we’ve had shows throughout Oregon and Washington, so we’re just looking forward to engaging with more of the local Southwest Washington demographic and hopefully encouraging some of them to go check some of our larger shows,” he said.
The Vancouver reptile expo offered plenty of lizards, toads, frogs, snakes and even tarantulas and other arachnids, both for sale and for show. Visitors had the opportunity to take photos with toucans, a baby kangaroo, young alligators and more.
“The biggest thing about our show is it’s not just a reptile show. We really try to bring a variety for anybody that’s looking for something unique,” Hoffman said. “To balance out the reptile aspect is bringing in more exotic animals.”
The Vancouver show had roughly 40 to 50 tables, Hoffman said, adding that other shows have upwards of 200 tables for vendors.
“This will be the smallest (show) that we put on by far, but that also will give a bit of a candid environment, so I think it will help bolster the community a little more as far as being more engaged,” Hoffman said.
Hoffman said that he sees the Vancouver show growing in the future. The smaller venue and table size for the inaugural event acted as a test run to see how attendance would go. The show on Sunday, March 16, was accompanied with packed aisles of attendees enjoying the phobia-inducing critters.
“So this is really just kind of planting the seed, and the intent is to grow along with the interest that we see, that we anticipate seeing,” Hoffman said.
Up next, the Hillsboro, Oregon, show will take place at the Westside Commons, 801 NE 34th Ave., in Hillsboro on April 12 and 13. To learn more, visit pacnwrs.com.
