Welcome to Timmins Night took over a downtown street last night.
The annual event showcases the services and opportunities available in the city. While anyone can attend, it's especially targeted at newcomers who may be unaware of all that the city has to offer.
"This is my first Welcome to Timmins Night. So I didn't know what else to expect here. But just visited the Employment Options booth. Since I am a Supply Chain Management and Logistics student, I wanted to know my options in Timmins," said Abijith Pai, an international student at Northern College.
"People are really helpful and cooperative. I love this," he added.
He also wanted to know what other services the city council provides for students.
Organized by the Timmins and District Multicultural Centre, the free event allows community groups, municipal services, social clubs, health, academic, sports, recreation, culture and volunteer organizations to set up and share information on what their organization offers. Donations were also collected for the South Porcupine Food Bank.
"I can see a lot of engagement. People are visiting lots of booths, and the turnout is good," said Ifeoma Kasimanwuna, Timmins Local Immigration Partnership coordinator.
She also said the participating vendors went up to more than 70 from last year's 52.
"It's great participation from both exhibitors and the community. This year people engaged more," she said.
Elijah Ogigie has lived in Timmins since 2019, but this was the first time he attended the event.
He visited many booths but thinks Sports for Kids is the one he liked the most. His two daughters also enjoyed the evening with him.
Former MPP Gilles Bisson was at the Carpenters' District Council of Ontario booth.
"The issue here is, there are all kinds of work available in the construction industry, and they have a hard time finding people. The carpentry is aggressively looking for people," he said.
He was happy that many people were engaging with the booth.
