Home & Garden Show Adjusts Blueprint for 2021
While many events have been forced to cancel, the Home & Garden Show is making the best of a challenging situation for the benefit of exhibitors and showgoers
FORT WAYNE, IND. (March 12, 2021) – Fort Wayne Shows Inc., northeast Indiana’s largest home and garden event producer, today announced an adjusted version of the annual Fort Wayne Home and Garden Show (FWHGS). This 48th annual event at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum will be held seven weeks later than normal on April 15-18. Traditionally the FWHGS boasts more than 650 exhibitors and a plethora of entertainment and educational features. But with a portion of the Coliseum being used for COVID vaccinations, health and safety protocols and social distancing guidelines to adhere to, things will look different this year.
Despite the changes for 2021, the Fort Wayne Home & Garden Show remains the place to see the latest in contemporary home and garden products and services. From knowledgeable home and garden experts, to beautifully constructed and unique landscapes by exhibitors, attendees can expect to find all the inspiration and help needed for all types of home improvement projects. Exhibitors feature products and services for kitchen, bath, landscaping, interior decor, bedding, windows, siding, roofing, gutters, patios, driveways and more. Attendees are invited to explore the Garden Gallery, in its temporary location, full of unique garden accessories, gifts, plants, fairy gardens, patio and landscape displays and hundreds of spring flowers.
“Different yes, but different is better than not happening,” says show co-owner Becky Williamson. “We kept hearing from exhibitors how important our show was to their businesses, how large portions of their marketing and sales was attributed to this show and how they faced unique challenges to stay in business all year long and were counting on this show to happen. That’s when we realized we had to persevere. Even if the show isn’t quite what people are used to seeing, it’s important for us to provide this marketplace for our exhibitors and showgoers. People want to shop local, shop small businesses and support them. Our show is a great platform for that initiative!”
The Fort Wayne Home & Garden Show will be reduced in size this year as the arena basement, known during the show as the Garden Gallery, is being used by the county for COVID vaccinations. However, since there won’t be any feature speakers or educational seminars due to social distancing guidelines, the Garden Gallery will be relocated to the Conference Hall that connects with the show main floor in the Expo Hall. Therefore, there won’t be a drastic difference in the number of exhibitors, just a new layout and location for many of them.
“This year, the exhibitors are our features,” says Williamson. “These are the businesses that survived a pandemic and they deserve to be celebrated and supported! We are emphasizing this by quadrupling the number of ‘Show Bucks’ winners this year as kind of our own ‘Show Stimulus Package’ for showgoers and exhibitors!”
Show Bucks are a form of gift certificate given out randomly to showgoers each hour. These gift certificates can be redeemed with any participating exhibitor, like a traditional gift certificate. Exhibitors then are reimbursed by the show so that more transactional business is encouraged.
In a continuation of last year’s charitable partnership, an exhibit space during the show, plus a portion of ticket revenue will be donated to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Fort Wayne. Funds raised will contribute to building homes for those Fort Wayne community members in need.
Located at the War Memorial Coliseum, 4000 Parnell Avenue, Fort Wayne, IN 46805. Show dates for 2021 are April 15 – 18. Show hours are Thursday & Friday 11a–9p, Saturday 10a–9p and Sunday 11a–5p. General admission tickets are $12, $8 for Seniors 62+ (Senior discount only available at the show Box Office) and free for kids 14 & under. Parking at the Coliseum lot is $6. For anyone looking to avoid larger crowds, please consider attending the show on Thursday or any other day after 3p.
For more show information and to purchase tickets, visit Home-GardenShow.com.
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Fort Wayne Shows, Inc.
The Fort Wayne Home & Garden Show features hundreds of exhibitors each year and serves as the largest home improvement event in the tri-state area. A family owned business, Fort Wayne Shows was founded in 1973 by Ernie Kerns, and was spearheaded by his daughter Karen Tejera from 2003 to 2019. Now in 3rd generation leadership, Karen’s daughter Becky Williamson produces the annual event. For more information, visit Home-GardenShow.com
Media Contact
Ryan Marshall, on behalf of Fort Wayne Shows Ryan@MarshallMEDIAS.com, 317.516.8059
