City hosts reverse vendor fair April 9

The City of Asheville is excited to invite area vendors interested in doing business with the city to participate in a Reverse Vendor Fair on April 9. This is a great opportunity for vendors to speak directly with city department representatives and to find out more about what contract and bid opportunities the City of Asheville offers. Departments will also provide information about upcoming projects and bidding opportunities. The vendor fair will be held from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the U.S. Cellular Center and admission is free.

Here are more details:

The City of Asheville is excited to invite regional vendors interested in doing business with the city to participate in the second annual Reverse Vendor Fair on April 9. This is a great opportunity for vendors to speak directly with city department representatives and to find out more about what contract and bid opportunities the City of Asheville offers. Departments will also provide information about upcoming projects and bidding opportunities. The vendor fair is a “free” walk through event that will be held from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Additionally, on April 9, City staff members from the Office of Economic Development and the Purchasing Department will conduct a workshop on “The Business of Public Contracting.” The workshop will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Banquet Hall, U.S. Cellular Center. Attendance is free, but RSVP is required by Monday, April 7th, as space is limited.
Workshop will include the following:

· Being an Active Vendor
· Contracting Thresholds & Types
· How Contracts are Bid and Awarded
· How to Find City of Asheville Bidding Opportunities & the City’s Outreach for Minorities & Women Vendors

For more information about the vendor fair and how you can participate and RSVP for the training opportunities on event day, please contact or Brenda Mills at (828) 259-8050 or bmills@ashevillenc.gov or Amy Patterson at (828) 259-5953 or apatterson@ashevillenc.gov. Information and updates can be found at the city’s website at www.ashevillenc.gov/bids.