One of the largest home and garden shows in Massachusetts wrapped up four days of showcases and sales over the weekend.
If you wanted a shed, shrubs or just a bag of beer nuts, you could get them all under one roof in West Springfield at the “Original” Western Mass Home & Garden Show.
From Thursday through Sunday, at least 200 exhibitors were at the Eastern States Exposition’s Better Living Center – with the show also expanding into the nearby Stroh Building to meet demand, officials say.
The show also turned 70 this year – no easy feat, says Andrew Crane, executive director of the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Western Massachusetts, the show’s longtime organizers.
“70 years ago, social media wasn't here - neither was I, by the way- but 70 years ago, without social media, people relied on being seen, because there wasn't an easy, inexpensive way to promote yourself, right?” he told WAMC. “So, especially in this day and age, when trades people are hard to come by, you can come here and hopefully find people that are looking for work.”
He adds the event brings in anywhere from 12,000-15,000 visitors to the Big E fairgrounds – people from across the Northeast meeting vendors promoting everything from roofing services to expansive wooden sheds to pottery.
It’s also a good chance to see unconventional tech that could come in handy. Operating in a corner of the main showroom is Bill Sieff of North Haven, Connecticut – sporting his patented "Retract-A-Post" – a retractable mailbox post that can take punishment from a plow or side-swiping car and come right back up again, thanks to a heavy-duty spring.
For him, and his daughter managing his social media, shows like these are a golden opportunity.
“They’re great opportunities for people that are looking to improve their home, their curb appeal - all the things that they want to do with their home,” he told WAMC Friday. “I think that's kind of why I felt this was a good show for me, to highlight this product and exhibit it because we got people that are looking to do that. And mailboxes are not typically something people go to a home show thinking about, but they're kind of in that mindset.”
It's also a pretty opportune time to see what’s new on the marketplace in general, says Tracie D’Agostino – who adds she was keeping an eye out for anything patio-related.
“I’m a real estate agent, so we always try to find different things that are available in the marketplace, for improvements and to meet people, so we come every year,” she said.
For other visitors, it’s their first time walking through the couple hundred mini-showrooms. With so many local contractors in the house, Gary and Anne Singer tell WAMC they managed to run into a company they’re already working with.
“We actually just stopped by and saw one of our vendors that is going to be doing some work for us – Oasis Shower Doors,” Gary Singer said. “We're putting in a new bathroom, and they're going to be putting in a shower door for us, so, we just stopped and said, ‘Hello!’”
There’s also a fair amount of food – dining spots, bakeries and at least one stand selling specialty pickles were among the options – as was a beer nut roasting operation that’s been part of the event for years.
John Michael Malloy is the owner and operator of Bavarian Beer Nuts, based out of the Catskill Mountains. Usually working in carpentry during the year, he was working full-time Friday with a table top cooker, copper kettle and a longtime family recipe.
“What we're doing is we're taking the sugar and we have a special family recipe, which is a cocoa mixture, and we're caramelizing the sugar onto the nuts,” he explained, pointing to the three-armed mixer constantly rotating the nuts in the thick mixture. “They all have the same recipe on [them], but the flavor of the nut comes through. So … roasted peanuts are very robust, almonds are more delicate - we have the cashews and then pecans, which - I love the pecans the most: it's like having pecan pie without the crust or goo.”
The show wrapped up Sunday evening. If you missed it – there’s always next year. The multi-day exhibition usually takes place every March.
