Marcia Johnson of Elgin and her husband Ken came to the annual Home and Garden Show at the Kane County Fairgrounds in St. Charles Saturday morning because they had recently purchased a home and “were looking at getting some ideas.”
“I’m kind of interested in maybe getting some solar power on the roof and we’re thinking of maybe adding a three-season room and maybe just getting some ideas,” she said. “We’re in the middle of the renovation on the house we’ve bought.”
Winter may not have even reached the halfway point here in the Fox Valley, but hundreds of folks already had spring and home improvements on their minds this weekend at the annual Home and Garden Show.
Organized by Omni Media Inc. of West Chicago, the show features vendors offering kitchen and bath, siding, roofing, landscaping services and more during the two-day event which concludes from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Organizers said this was just the second year the expo has been held at the fairgrounds after a run for years at the old Pheasant Run resort in St. Charles.
Scott Hardesty, president of Omni Media, said last year’s show at the fairgrounds was moved to the spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The show last year “occupied about 15,000 square feet and had maybe 70 to 80 vendors or so,” Hardesty said. “This year, we have the entire facility in the Prairie Event Center and are going from 15,000 square feet to maybe 30,000 and about 140 businesses.”
Hardesty said the large crowds at the event involve “people planning, since their home is the number one investment.”
“It’s important to people and they feel if it’s a better home, it’s a better life and they come out early to plan and meet the people and are thinking spring even though it’s January,” he said. “A lot of people throughout COVID only went with the necessities, and now they are coming out of it and looking at wants and not just needs.”
Saturday’s opening day was strong from the outset with plenty of cars surrounding the Prairie Event Center by 10 a.m.
Vendors like Connor Flannery, event and retail marketing manager for the Glenview-base Renewal by Andersen Windows, said his company has been at the show at least 10 years and said the event “is a great place to talk to homeowners who are thinking about a window replacement project.”
“We feel like the crowds are coming back and keep things moving,” he said. “The show has doubled and we’re expecting a great turnout.”
Marcia Johnson said she felt people came out early in the season “because with the lead times and supply chain and the shortage of workers we found that is pays to start early.”
Donna Cole of North Aurora came to the show Saturday morning saying she “was looking for something to do on a snowy, cold day.”
“I was just looking for something to do but I’m always thinking about the bathroom and the kitchen,” she said. “It’s good just to look around and see what’s out there.”
Debbie Wellick of St. Charles said she also came to the show “to browse around and get ideas for our townhouse.”
“We have already been talking to someone about windows which we are planning to replace in the future,” she said.
Debbie’s husband Craig Wellick said he liked the one-stop shop feature of the show and that the couple would also be looking at bathrooms.
“We’re going to just walk and see what’s going on,” he said. “There’s a lot to see here.”
Steve Mudd of Batavia said he is currently building a house and that he was looking for siding and bathroom vendors.
“I’ve not been to a home show and since we are building a house, we’re trying to get ideas,” he said.
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
