The 37th annual Home and Lifestyle Show, presented by the Home Builders Association of Northwest Indiana (HBA), opened today at the Porter County Expo Center.
Packed wall-to-wall with vendors and products, the Home and Lifestyle Show transforms the open spaces of the PCEC into a walkable showcase of local experts willing to share ideas, tips, and helpful advice to attendees.
Click here to see more photos from the 2015 Home and Lifestyle Show.
And while home and lawn improvement is the main theme, the show has something for everyone. There’s local businesses showcasing new technology and inventions; local stores debuting new and exciting products; and even a new local food vendor, Rudy’s Apple Mountain BBQ, serving hungry guests.
Walking around and talking with people at the show, local becomes a word you hear a lot. And for good reason, as the majority of vendors are local.
“Most of the vendors in attendance are small businesses from the community,” HBA Executive Officer, Vicky Gadd told Ideas In Motion Media. “That’s what’s nice about the show, you really get to meet the businesses.”
And attendees get to meet a lot of businesses, as the show is filled with over 100 vendors this year. The large number of these local businesses involved means those who attend have the ability to shop, meet, and learn about different vendors without having to hop in a car and drive all over Northwest Indiana to do it.
“There is a great selection here,” Gadd added. “If I am interested in, say, granite countertops, I can just go booth to booth; there’s another vendor twenty feet away. I am not going all over town.”
For the vendors in attendance, the show serves as an opportunity for them to meet the community as well. And the friendly, relaxed mood of the show allows the vendors to get to listen to people’s ideas and show them how they can turn those ideas into a reality.
“It’s really nice to get to interact with the community,” Steiner Homes’ Marketing Director, Bob Capobianco, said. “The atmosphere provides a chance for people to pop in and take a peek at what we do and how we can help.”
"I love the meet and greet aspect of it," Von Tobel Lumber and Hardware's Sales and Marketing Associate, Angi Creekmur added. "We have always had a big involvement with the community, so it's a great chance to meet and connect with people."
Of course, the show has everything you could ever want when it comes to homes, and even home building. But in the end, it’s the people that are just as much as a reason to attend as the products themselves.
The Home and Lifestyle show runs through this Sunday. The cost of attending is $7.00 and kids 18-and-under are free. Additionally, for those with kids, there is the second annual LEGO home building contest for kids ages 5-12 on Saturday. Spots are still available and registration begins at 10:00 a.m. for kids 5-8, and 1:00 p.m. for kids 9-12.