Exhibitors Have Plenty To Show, Tell

It may be awhile before 19-year-olds Matt Wright and Daria Whitmore can own their own homes, but that didn’t stop the Whitworth College students from getting some ideas Friday at the Home and Garden Show.

“The show is very creative,” said Wright. “We’ve seen a lot of new, inexpensive ways of decorating.”

In addition to artwork, this weekend’s Home and Garden Show at the Convention Center features everything from lawnmowers to hot tubs to ceramic house numbers for the front door.

“It’s been a very good opening day,” said show owner Sharon Panther of Spokane. “It truly is springtime, a high-energy time of the year to improve things around the home.”

The show, now in its 20th year, draws an annual crowd of about 20,000 people. It has become a tradition for many visitors, said Panther, who bought the show 12 years ago.

This year’s show is bigger than last year’s, with about 165 exhibitors and companies at more than 260 booths and displays.

The most crowded area is the Orchid Society Show/Sale, in the Convention Center meeting rooms.

“We’re the most colorful part of the show,” said John Parr of the Orchid Society, pointing to a table of prize-winning orchids.

Orchid-growers from Seattle, Battle Ground, Wash., and other cities in Washington and Oregon are displaying their flowers.

“The kinds of comments we get - the oohs and ahhs - really get us going,” said Parr.

Outside the meeting rooms, company representatives stood in front of their booths and tried to make eye contact with passers-by.

It was a slow afternoon, said Bob Koppe of Columbia Furniture.

“It’s much quieter this year,” said Koppe, who has sold furniture at the show for the last five years. “It’ll probably pick up a lot tomorrow.”They left with some good paint advice, they said, and a couple of Pyrex bowls.

The show is open today from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $4.