Saturday 26 October 2013

ZoomerShow, Toronto, ON


Gord and I checked out the ZoomerShow today at the Direct Energy Center.  We'd never been before.  We brought an ad from the Toronto Star so our admittance was $5 each, rather than $8 each.

Now entering its sixth successful year, the ZoomerShow is Canada’s largest consumer show and lifestyle expo for men and women 45+.

On site, you will receive the latest trends, advice and information on positive aging from more than 250 exhibitors in categories such as:
  • Health & Wellness
  • Financial Planning
  • Real Estate & Community
  • Caregiving
  • Fitness
  • Technology
  • Employment
  • Education
  • Pets
  • Volunteerism
  • Faith
  • Home Renovations & Safety
  • Travel
The show is loaded with extras, such as celebrity speakers, free vaccinations, blood pressure checks, fitness demonstrations, samples, discounts and interactive kiosks.

When we walked in, we were greeted by members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.


This mist sign was neat ... there were images projected on it.  I walked through it and it felt a bit cool.


There were various sections.  The first one was Lifestyle and Money so there were lots of financial institutions.  Gord and I both work for one so we weren't interested in this section.


We watched some of the Paw Walk Fashions Show in the Pet Zone.

This dog didn't want to move ...
The walker tried to lift its back legs to get it moving ...
Nope ... it didn't want move :)
The Toronto Cat Rescue had a booth ...
we got Morgan from them 11 years ago.
I bought this teeshirt in orange.
The Annex Cat Rescue had a booth too ...
we got Crumpet from them two years ago.

There were some cool old cars in the Classic Car Zone.

Imagine trying to park this beast!

Julie Daniluk, a nutritionist, author and speaker, was talking when we walked past the Lifestyle & Travel Stage ... we heard her speak at the Italpasta gluten free dinner at 7 Numbers last month.


There was some weird stuff in the Sci-Fi Zone.

SilverElvis ... no, these guys weren't real.
Spock chatting with some earthlings!

There was nothing going on when we walked by the Home & Cottage Stage.


They were teaching tai chi when we walked by the Health & Vitality Stage.


We wandered through the Wellness Zone ...

Massages, reiki, meditation, stones, etc.

Here are some of the some of the other exhibitors ...

National Institute for Genealogical Studies
Downton Abbey Fan Club
With Gord
What's in your future?
Wanna be regular?  There's a club for that!
The Red Hat Society
The wine and whiskey tasting section was popular and had a line-up

There was entertainment on the Main Stage when we were there.


At noon, Beverley Mahood, a Canadian country music singer-songwriter and television host, sang for 20 minutes.

Signing autographs afterwards

Lighthouse came on at 1pm. Lighthouse is a Canadian rock band formed in 1968 and won Juno Awards for Best Canadian Group of the Year in 1972, 1973 and 1974.  A couple of their hits, which they sang today, are Sunny Days, One Fine Morning and Hats Off (to the Stranger).

There was a crowd of over 300!

When they finished after 20 minutes, they received a standing ovation!


So they came back on stage and sang one more song.  Considering they are in their late 50s, 60s and 70s, they sounded good!  Seeing Lighthouse was the high point of the ZoomerShow for me.

I probably won't go back to this show for many many years.  According to the ZoomerShow website, Zoomers encompass both the Boomers (45-63) and those who are older.  Judging by the majority of the exhibitors' products and services and the attendees, though, I felt it was appropriate for an older crowd.  At 51, I felt too young to be there.

I found that some of the salespeople at the exhibits were very aggressive in their pitch and I ended up being abrupt or ignoring them altogether.  In particular, a woman selling solar bonds and a fella from a funeral home/cemetery company to enter a contest to win a TV wouldn't take "no" for an answer.  I hope the older attendees were able to not get persuaded to buy something they didn't want.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I really wanted to attend this convention, but alas..... Thank you for posting this. It feels like I got to see it after all, and I get the impression I didn't miss much.

Masshole Mommy said...

Chris would have loved running into Mr. Spock. This sounds like an interesting show - we don't have anything like that around here.

Sarah said...

I really enjoyed reading and seeing the pictures from the show. I actually saw that same Spock guy at the Taste of the Danforth.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know if that was the real Dr Spock at that Zoomer Show?