Dare ye enter the Den of the Dragons?

Those with a penchant for invention (and the ability to absorb criticism) will be brushing off their blue prints for the arrival of the advance team for the CBC TV program The Dragon's Den.

The CBC show, which airs on Wednesday nights at 8, features would be inventors pitching their plans in front of a panel of well known corporate leaders, successful ones gain access to funding for their dreams, the unsucessful ones a bit of television time and perhaps the topic of conversation around the office water cooler.



The first line of local approach to face the dragons will take place in Prince Rupert on Wednesday, March 31st, when the shows production team will be in town from noon – 7 pm at the Crest Hotel.

Local entrepreneurs will have five minutes each to make their pitch in the BC Room at the Crest, if successful they may very well find themselves heading off to Toronto to appear on the program, where the Dragons will say aye or nay to their plans and perhaps share a little investment capital to get things started.

As extra incentive for this year's season, entrepreneurs with an eco-friendly business, invention or idea could qualify for a $100,000 Greenvention prize from Sun Chips. (see details on that competition here) Something that just might be enough incentive to send us all off to the garage to get to work.

It's not the first time that the Dragon's Den has sought out Northern BC participation, in 2008 the advance team made it as far as Prince George, where auditions for a spot took place for Season four.

This year they have added Prince Rupert to the itinerary seeking that next big thing from someone on the North coast.

Local hardware stores and supply shops are on notice, there may be a rush on materials in the next two weeks as locals put the finishing touches on what they hope will be the next big thing.

The producers are tracking their travels around BC with a blog entry on the website, updating their status and providing a few tidbits from the audition phase so far,

The full list of rules, regulations and helpful tips on the process can be found from the Dragon's Den website,   in a addition there is an official Dragon's Den blog and a newsletter for those wishing to learn more about what the Dragons may be looking for.