Exhibition spaces for the biennial Weyburn Oil Show are quickly disappearing, with the majority of the 283 display places already rented.

The oil show is set for Wednesday, June 4 and Thursday, June 5, 2003, at the Weyburn Colosseum and Tom Zandee Sports Arena.

"We're hoping we'll be full, about 283 spaces to fill and we're about 74 per cent full a lot of people who have been here before want to come back," said Marlene Nedelcov, manager of the Weyburn Oil Show.

One company has gone so far as to rent 14 spaces for what Nedelcov describes as something completely new which will be a surprise.

On top of the exhibitors who usually attend, Nedelcov said there are also a number of companies attending for the first time.

The last oil show held in Weyburn in 2001 attracted up to 5,000 visitors, and is the second largest oil show in Canada.

Nedelcov went on to comment that the whole city benefits from the show including hotels, restaurants and local retailers.

The outdoor exhibit spaces are usually the most popular with companies with large pieces of equipment vying for the larger outdoor space.

"There's a lot of business done during this show, so it's financially good for them," said Nedelcov.

Many of the companies putting on displays for the show come from Alberta with significant representation from Saskatchewan and some from Manitoba.

There is also a good-sized contingent of companies from the United States who make the trip to Weyburn to attend the show.

Along with the show there will be several seminars, a golf tournament on Tuesday, June 3, a barbecue, and an awards banquet on Wednesday evening.

While Nedelcov acknowledges the show in Calgary is larger than Weyburn's, she said Weyburn has a lot to offer the oil industry.

She jokes that the golf tournament is the most popular event at the show, attracting about 160 golfers.

The show began in 1985 and grew out of the Weyburn Economic Development Committee as a means of attracting visitors to Weyburn.