PETOSKEY — The Home Builder’s Association of Northern Michigan’s Regional Home and Outdoor Living show is making its return for its 44th year after being canceled two years in a row due to COVID-19.
The theme of the show will be “new beginnings,” and it will take place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, April 8 and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 9 in the community resource center at North Central Michigan College. The entry fee will be $5 for adults and free for children under the age of 17. Around 65-70 vendors are expected to be there, including landscapers, carpet, flooring, countertops, windows and soft water systems.
Anyone looking to build or remodel their home is welcome to come to the show to find inspiration, research material or designs and network with local businesses.
“(The show) brings potential consumers together with potential vendors that can help solve issues,” said Christine Cole, chairperson of the Home Show committee and the president of the association. “Whether they’re looking to remodel or to build or they want some landscaping done, it’s a perfect place to bring both the consumers together with the businesses that can help them.”
In addition to vendors, the show will feature entertainment for kids. Home Depot will host a kid’s build project from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. Friday afternoon and Saturday there will be an hourly book reading put on by the association and there will be a scavenger hunt where kids will be given a card and will find clues throughout the show to earn a prize. The college’s Iron Horse cafe will also be open for lunch both days.
Included in the show will be educational seminars, the topics for which will be shared on the association website closer to the show date. Topics covered in the past include considerations for remodeling a home and kitchen and bath design ideas.
New to the show this year will be Builder’s Row, where local builders can take four-hour shifts in order to accommodate their busy work schedule. The builders will work at a table that has been set up for them, meet customers one-on-one and showcase their work without committing an entire day to the show.
“There’s all kinds of vendors that have selections of products,” said Janet Chambers, marketing consultant to the association and owner of Beacon Marketing Solutions. “If you were doing a kitchen remodel, you might want to look at countertops, cabinets, all kinds of materials. So there’s many material vendors there. And then expanding outdoors has really become a big thing for many homeowners.”
With 56 vendors currently signed up and a capacity for 90, the show is still accepting vendors relating to building, home improvement or outdoor living, including camping equipment, RVs and bikes. A 10×10 booth is $550 and forms for reserving a booth can be found on the association’s website.
The event will comply with COVID-19 protocols established by the health department and college. Booths will be more spaced out than in previous years in order to create wider walkways. Whether or not masks will be required will be decided closer to the event and will be updated on the association website.
Sponsors for the show include Kinetico Water Systems, Renewit Decks and Outdoor Living and Harbor Brenn Insurance Agencies along with the yearly Champion Sponsors DTE, Preston Feather Building Centers and Design Showrooms, Builders FirstSource and Barden Lumber Company.
