Home show a big hit
By GAIL OBERSTOf the News-Register
Dave Goetz of Grand Ronde was methodical about his inquiries.
The retired Spirit Mountain electrician wants to add a room onto his home, so he and his wife, Kathy, headed to the big Home & Garden Show held over the weekend at the McMinnville Community Center. They visited almost all the 40-plus booths at the show.
While Dave chatted with Jack Rehlinger of Castle Construction, Kathy sniffed flameless candles at the Scentsy booth. While he talked to Terry Hall of Square Deal Construction, Kathy browsed the plants at Mineral Springs Ornamental Nursery's booth next door.
The couple paused for a few minutes to talk to Jan Hartzell of Western Oregon Waste, asking her where they might take their compostable yard waste. While Dave looked at Shan Stassens' brochures at the Winsome Homes booth, Kathy asked about the retro-style Heywood- Wakefield bed on sale at the McMinnville Habitat for Humanity ReStore booth.
"He needs a workplace," said Kathy, indicating that Dave's wood-turning hobby is battling for space with her quilting materials. "This was a good place to bring him."
The Goetzes were apparently not alone in their inquiries. The three-day show featured more than 40 exhibitors, hawking everything from pots to barns, and drew a big crowd in the process.
This was the second local show staged here by Salem-based Willamette Valley Productions in the last 12 months, according to President Kaleb Ramsey. He said numbers hadn't all been toted up yet, but he was expecting attendance to run about 3,000.
The company, now in its eighth year of operations, took over from a similar company which had operated home and garden shows for at least 10 years previously.
It already has future shows booked in mid-valley communities, including Salem, McMinnville and Albany. For details, visit www.wvpevents.com.
Ramsey said the aim to provide a forum for local businesses, especially those that may not have a storefront.
Among the participants was Mel Lulay of Waldport, who demonstrated a wheelbarrow attachment that allows do-it-yourselfers to easily and precisely dump heavy materials without losing control. His business was exactly the kind the sponsors had in mind.
"We want to put these businesses on display, not us," Ramsey said. He said he especially appreciated the "leap of faith" many new business owners took this spring to join the McMinnville show.
Stassens set up shop under a giant decorative truss he built specifically for home shows. He was quickly greeted by a woman for whom he had recently built a home on McMinnville's west side.
"There's our house," she said, pointing to a picture as she shook Stassens' hand. "We get so many compliments on it."
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