Buy, buy, buy. Vendors at the 23rd annual Fresno Home & Garden Show are hopeful shoppers will open their wallets at the Fresno Fairgrounds March 6-8.
Pool, landscape and building contractors, interior designers and how-to experts will compete for attention during the indoor and outdoor home show. Organizers say more than 35,000 people attended last year's event.The show's Web site, www.fresnoshows.com, offers a list of exhibitors and companies offering show coupons."I'd say we're going to have a similar amount of merchants at the show," says show owner and promoter Otis Webb."We have 557 now, and we even had to re-do our floor plan to add booths. Vendors kept calling. We are very surprised and excited about that."Webb stresses that 95% of the companies at the show are local. "We support local business; the moms and pops depend on our show" he says.Considering the economy, will visitors come? "We've got our fingers crossed," he says. "We are doing a lot of advertising and offering $3-off coupons, merchant discounts and show specials. It's hard to predict."Friday, March 6 is Senior Day, when those 60 and older can enter for $4. General admission is $8; children younger than 12 are free. Show hours are 11 a.m.-8 p.m. March 6; 10 a.m. -7 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. Sunday.Highlights of the fairgrounds show include: Kitchen and bath design expo: An actual model home environment, complete with the latest in kitchen and bath products and design from the Cabinetry Design Center, KotenkoffGranite and KMB Construction. Seminars on building the perfect kitchen will be offered. The 10th annual Central Valley Art of Landscape design competition. This event showcases the local landscape industry. The 14th annual cooking shows: The junior exhibition building, No. 8, is the setting for cooking seminars that will include demonstrations by chefs Rick Valeri (The Downtown Club), Malachi Harland (The Chef's Table), Scott Sauer (Max's Bistro) and Willem Bezemer (Institute of Technology Culinary School), among others. The Pet Center: Feather Ranch Kennels offers dog training while merchants offer pet products and services. The Urban Marketplace: Shop for artisan-made products ranging from pottery to paintings. Gardening seminars: The Fresno County Master Gardeners offer seminars on everything from rose care to weed control. The UL Safety Tour: Underwriters Laboratories will bring its mobile message of safety to Fresno for the first time.Show organizers suggest visitors bring blueprints, sketches or floor plans to the show. Vendors will be prepared to provide estimates or project timelines.On the practical side, shoppers should be aware that wheelchairs and strollers aren't available to rent at the fairgrounds.A food court will be open, and automated teller machines are available throughout the grounds.