You’ll find hundreds of products and services, dozens of free seminars and demonstrations, contests and attractions, and, of course, plenty of gorgeous indoor gardens to delight your eyes and your nose. With over 350 exhibitors filling the exhibition halls and the Grand Gallery, everything you need for your home, inside and outside, is here!
Here’s a guide to features and highlights that will help you get the most out of this year’s Show:
- Keeping It Local - We’re proud that over 300 of our exhibitors are local businesspeople and companies who care about and support our community, and who really care about doing an outstanding job for their customers. Come meet them, and feel good knowing they’ll be around to take care of you after the Show is over. The West Michigan Home and Garden Show is a proud member of Local First.
- The Amazing Joey Green - The New York Daily News calls him a “hyperactive, testosterone-charged version of Heloise.” He polishes furniture with SPAM, cleans jewelry with Efferdent, scrubs toilets with cola, and has thousands of other quick and easy household solutions! Join the best-selling author of dozens of books for his fantastic and fun presentation Wacky Uses for Brand Name Products: Crazy About Cleaning! on the Home Stage.
- HBA Pro Pavilion - NEW to the Show! The Home and Building Association of Greater Grand Rapids hosts an information packed walk-thru exhibit space that takes each visitor through the steps of building a new home while connecting them with the Pros – HBA Members! The HBA Pro Pavilion will also feature a resource center, member listings, and seminars, including Kitchen Remodeling, Bath Remodeling, Green Projects for Energy Efficiency, Protecting Your Home, and many more. Check it out!
- Garden and Art Market - A show within the Show! Come browse 45 booths of unique and inspired garden accessories, plants, decor, art and gifts from the area’s best artists and finest local nurseries and garden shops. It’s shopping at its best, and you could win a $25 gift card to use at one of the participating local Garden Centers!
- Family Day - Saturday is Family Day, with loads of special features and attractions for kids, parents, and grandparents, including:
- Free Children’s Admission until Noon on Saturday!
- Pancake Breakfast (9am till 11am) Get fueled up for your busy day with all-you-can-eat pancakes, sausage, coffee, and orange drink for $5 (Please note that main exhibit halls open at 10am)
- Brownie “Sand Art” (10:30 till 11:15am) Kids create an artful jar filled with all the dry ingredients to bake up a batch of brownies at home!
- Blandford Nature Center “Birds of Prey Show” (10:30am – 11:30am and 1:30pm – 2:30pm) See cool, live owls and raptors, on the Garden Stage
- Make a Bouquet with the MI Floral Association (11am - Noon) First 250 kids will create a beautiful child sized bouquet with fresh flowers to give to that someone special.
- Home Depot Kids’ Workshops (Noon – 2pm), first 500 kids can participate in a building or painting project – birdhouses, toolboxes, and more!
- Make a Centerpiece with Grace Adventures (2pm – 3pm) Create a beautiful centerpiece – a work of art to take home and display on your dining table!
- Plant a Flower, Scavenger Hunt and more with the MSU Junior Master Gardeners
- Grand Rapids Youth Symphony performances in the Grand Gallery - CANstruction! - The West Michigan Home & Garden Show is proud to host the 2011 CANstruction competition right in the Grand Gallery! 10 Teams of Architects, Designers and Students will build amazing sculptures using only canned goods. The competition benefits the Salvation Army’s Booth Family Services, a member of the ACCESS Pantry Network. Finished sculptures will be on display throughout the Show, and for a $1 donation, visitors can vote for the People’s Choice Award Winner!
- Felder Rushing - Our Garden Stage headliner is the leader of a movement he calls Slow Gardening, which is also the title of his new book, scheduled for publication this spring. Felder Rushing, a Mississippian with some transplanted roots in England, is a writer, radio host, television personality, lecturer, and, of course, a devoted gardener. Felder’s goal is to de-mystify horticulture and to remind folks of what he calls the “right-brain” garden: fun, pretty, and productive with “as little effort as possible!” Don’t miss Felder’s seminar Getting Green in the Garden on Friday at 6pm.
- The Grilling Buddies - Mad Dog and Merrill are known to millions as “The Grilling Buddies” from their regular appearances on national television. No matter how accomplished, every Backyard Chef will learn plenty as these guys teach you to get more out of your grill – everything from appetizers to desserts – all while making you laugh. Don’t miss their fun-filled seminars!
- AGRLP Feature Garden The Grand Garden Party - Dan Rose, owner of Rose Landscape Services has designed a backyard living space that’s both beautiful and perfect for gatherings and good times. Get inspired and enjoy the colors and perfumes of Spring, with thousands of blooming flowers, live trees, and shrubs. As always, this central part of the Show is created by members of the Association of Grand Rapids Landscape Professionals with help from students in Kent Career & Technical Center’s Agriscience Program.
- Ten Indoor Gardens - Spring is definitely in the air this weekend at DeVos Place! In addition to the gorgeous central garden, you’ll find nine more magnificent indoor landscapes scattered throughout the show. Our area’s premier landscapers are here to show off their best work, and the results will wow you. Whether you have acres or just a window box to work with for your own landscaping, you’re sure to pick up plenty of ideas to take home.
- Hands-On/Do-It-Yourself Stage - This is where you can “do it yourself” right at the Show -- visitors have a unique opportunity to roll up their sleeves and learn by doing! Experts teach ceramic and stone tiling, decorating techniques, basic electrical and plumbing projects, raised bed gardening, and more.
- Garden Stage - The Garden Stage is thriving with everything you want to know about mole control, lawns, containers, trees, eco-friendly techniques, landscaping, and more! Join Meijer Gardens staff members, Flowerland’s Rick Vuyst, columnist Rebecca Finneran, and a host of other local authorities. It’s all here, at the Garden Stage!
- Home Stage - This is the stage for ways to make your home as beautiful and comfortable as it can be! Get great interior design ideas, watch a Flower Shop Design Show, get money saving tips from DTE’s Bob Fegan on Keeping Your Home Energy Efficient and don’t miss the return of Fun With Flowers and J! on Saturday.
- Standard Kitchens Cooking Stage - Popular chef Angus Campbell from GRCC’s Secchia Institute for Culinary Education is back with live cooking demonstrations. Master the secrets of luscious homemade desserts including Lemon Cream Cheesecake topped with Berry Bourbon Mash, Napoleon of Puff Pastry Filled with Vanilla Cream and Fruit Preserves, and more.
- Kent Career Technical Center Agriscience Program - In addition to assisting in construction of the Show’s spectacular central garden, the hard-working students of KCTC get to showcase their talents with a fantastic garden space that greets visitors in the Grand Gallery. Come appreciate the impressive knowledge and remarkable skills used to seamlessly blend the program’s three divisions – greenhouse operations, landscaping, and floral design – into a single indoor landscape. Browse the beautiful plants for sale, all grown by students. Sale proceeds go back into the agriscience program to buy supplies and equipment for next year.
- Standard Flower Show - The theme of this year’s show is “Weather Forecast.” Come enjoy stunning entries in the horticulture and design competitions, located at the back of the Grand Gallery. Sponsored by District IV of the Michigan Garden Clubs.
- Prizes and Giveaways - Finally, don’t miss your chance to win terrific prizes! Enter for a chance to win the Take the Home and Garden Show Home package, valued at over $10,000. You could also win a riding mower from Sparta Farm & Lawn, and a $2000 WoodPlay redwood playscape!
Discounted tickets are available at all participating area Home Depot locations. Discount weekday adult admission coupons are available online at http://www.grhomeshow.com/ and at Wendy's.
Dates and Times
Thursday, March 3
3 pm - 9:30pm
Friday, March 4
Noon - 9:30pm
Saturday, March 5
10 am - 9:30pm
Sunday, March 6
11 am - 6pm
Admission
Adults: $9.00
Children (6-14): $4.00
5 & Under: Free
