Women Expo celebrates womanhood

"With the exhibition only a few weeks away, preparations are now in full swing to make Women Expo an entertaining, exciting and highly relevant event for all women," said C.J. Paul, general manager of Omanexpo LLC, the leading exhibition organiser in the sultanate.

First held in 2005, Women Expo is the first and only exhibition in Oman that gives particular attention to all products and services for women. This year, over 50 companies have already confirmed their participation in the six-day event, which will focus on the following major areas: beauty and health, jewellery and fashion, home and lifestyle, food and kitchen, education and finance, and child care.

Women Expo 2006 is supported by Bank Muscat as the major sponsor and the Muscat Private Hospital as the co-sponsor. It is also officially endorsed by the Ministry of Health (MOH), the National Association for Cancer Awareness (NACA), the Omani Society of Fine Arts (OSFA), the Oman Women Association at Seeb, the Omani Women Association -Muscat, and the Omani Women Sports Development Committee. In addition, it is supported by Al Mar'a as the official magazine and Usrat Al Youm Magazine and Kul Al Usra Magazine as the media partners.

"The strong support to Women Expo 2006 clearly indicates the significance of having an exclusive exhibition of women, especially here in Oman where women are contributing significantly to the rapid development of the country," said Smita Raj Handa, event manager of Women Expo.

Handa pointed out that the exhibition will showcase a wide variety of products from perfumes, cosmetics and jewellery to home appliances, garments, and child care products. A number of educational institutions have also signed up for the event so they can promote their range of courses for women. Women Expo 2006 will also feature financial services, new food products, health services for women, home décor, and children's toys.

Apart from the exhibition, Handa announced that lots of exciting and educational activities will also be held on all days of the event. These include cooking demonstrations, musical performances, flower and candle arrangement, beauty product demonstrations, and cake decoration demonstrations. Other activities on the schedule are a wedding pageant, napkin folding demonstrations, song and dance presentations, and stained glass demonstrations.

"We are doing everything to ensure that all visitors will not only be able to find everything they need in the exhibition but they will also be entertained and even learn something at the same time," Handa said.

All women also have a chance to win valuable prizes by simply visiting the exhibition. According to Handa, among the prizes at stake are air tickets for a family of four to Sharjah and home appliances including refrigerators, washing machines, TV sets and DVD players.