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Wow! Another WoW Expo will be held Nov. 4

Fundraiser to combat domestic violence will feature speaker Karla Hult

By Fiona Green - Staff Writer | Oct 23, 2023

Karla Hult will be the featured speaker at this year's WoW Expo. Hult is a reporter and anchor for KARE 11, as well as an advocate for the Alzheimer's Association.

The Southern Minnesota Women of Worth (WoW) organization holds its annual WoW Expo to assert the worth of all women and to raise funds to support survivors of domestic abuse in southern Minnesota.

Although the Expo has taken place at the Golden Bubble in recent years, this year’s purple-powered event will be held at Blue Earth Area High School, just off of Highway 169.

“We’re very excited about (the new location),” says Southern Minnesota WoW vice president Kristin Woodwick, adding that the location is more convenient for the many WoW supporters who live in the Blue Earth and Fairmont areas.

The 2023 WoW Expo will be held on Saturday, Nov. 4, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission to the WoW Expo is free, although donations are always appreciated.

Southern Minnesota WoW views the Expo as an annual opportunity to remind women and survivors of their indisputable value.

As WoW’s mantra states, “I am a woman of worth. Southern Minnesota Women of Worth shall be for the good and betterment of families of rural southern Minnesota, through continued education about abuse, neglect and violence that takes place in the rural area, along with financial support of programs designed to help all victims of abuse.”

The WoW Expo – the organization’s only annual fundraiser – helps Southern Minnesota WoW raise necessary funds to fulfill that mantra.

“We just try to make it an uplifting day for women, to show what WoW is all about, and to support a good cause,” Woodwick explains.

Each WoW Expo offers many activities to celebrate and support southern Minnesota women, and this year’s event is no exception.

Promptly at 9 a.m., attendees can start browsing over 30 vendor booths representing both causes and home-based businesses. Some vendors hail locally, while others will travel from as far away as Mankato, Spirit Lake, Albert Lea and Fairmont.

Anyone who works up an appetite while perusing the vendors will be well-fed. Coffee will be provided by Cabin Coffee, and lunch will be catered by the P-Pod.

The WoW Expo’s annual makeover reveal will take place at 11:30 a.m.

Two women, Shantille Edgington and Jasmin Sahr, have been selected for the honor this year, either by self-nomination or nomination by a friend or family member.

Edgington and Sahr will reveal new, head-to-toe looks on Nov. 6 thanks to an entirely new outfit, compliments of Dikken’s Decorating, Inc., and a complimentary hair styling session at Refresh Salon and Spa.

The festivities will continue when keynote speaker Karla Hult takes the microphone at 1 p.m.

Hult is a reporter and anchor for KARE 11, the NBC affiliate in Minneapolis, and an adjunct professor at her alma mater, St. Olaf College. She is also a fierce fighter, emcee and overall advocate for the Alzheimer’s Association.

Hult recently launched her own company, as well. So Many Goodbyes is dedicated to helping families, caregivers and the long-term care community cope with the cruelty of Alzheimer’s.

“I’ve talked to her, and she seems very upbeat,” Woodwick says. “She seems like the best fit for our group.”

Expo attendees who support WoW by watching Hult’s presentation and the makeover reveals, as well as by shopping the selection of local vendors, can be assured their donations are funding a worthwhile cause.

So far this year, Southern Minnesota WoW has donated $4,652.63 in funds to southern Minnesota survivors.

Several months ago, WoW’s individual donations to survivors were increased to $350. Those donations are often supplemented with contributions from WoW’s local partners, the Southwest Crisis Center, CADA and WoMen’s Rural Advocacy Programs, Inc. (WRAP).

As of now, 25 individuals in Minnesota have lost their lives this year due to domestic violence. The memory of each of these individuals will be honored at the Expo.

Woodwick hopes plenty of people will consider donating time and funds to WoW’s Expo next month to help Southern Minnesota WoW in its mission to combat more deaths by domestic violence.

“It could happen to anybody,” Woodwick says. “You probably know somebody who’s going through it.”

For more information, please visit www.womenofworth.mn.com.