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HBA Home and Garden Show 60 years — and still growing
IF YOU GO
What: The Home Builders/
Remodelers Association of the
Mahoning Valley’s 60th annual Home & Garden Show. Attendees will be able to talk to contractors and vendors about kitchen remodeling, lighting, flooring, concrete leveling and numerous other aspects of their homes.
When: Noon to 8 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Mr. Anthony’s Banquet Center, 7440 South Ave., Boardman.
Cost: Free.
By Sean Barron
BOARDMAN
The calendar may still say winter, but later this week many people will be teased by an early taste of spring — even if it’s indoors.
That’s because the Home Builders/Remodelers Association of the Mahoning Valley’s 60th annual Home and Garden Show gets under way at noon Friday and continues through Sunday at Mr. Anthony’s Banquet Center, 7440 South Ave.
The three-day event will feature local contractors and vendors who will be on hand to offer tips on everything from building a new home to handling water leaks in the basement.
Attendees also will be able to talk to professional contractors on topics such as kitchen and bathroom remodeling, lighting, garage doors, roofing, flooring, concrete coverings, walkways and gardens.
The Home Builders Association is a not-for-profit organization that represents Mahoning Valley residents’ needs while working to keep housing costs affordable, said Joshua Aikens, executive director.
Last year, permits for construction of new homes increased in Mahoning and Trumbull counties compared with 2009, Aikens noted. In addition, the remodeling sector has remained vibrant locally, he said.
“Things are looking up for the industry,” Aikens explained. “We have survived tough times before, and we see the light at the end of this very long tunnel.”
From 1951 to 1984 the show was in the Idora Park ballroom, then moved to Mr. Anthony’s in 1985 because of the Idora Park fire in mid-1984. Over the years, the home and garden show has moved several more times, including to the Canfield Fairgrounds, its location for 18 years.
The show also was one of Idora’s last events.
One of the home-and-garden shows at the fairgrounds holds special memories for Kathy Telego of Niles, who married her husband, Tom, on May 3, 1997, during the show.
Mike Wilson helped to operate the show and knew Tom Telego because Telego was the event’s co-chairman, Kathy Telego recalled. Since Wilson had introduced the couple, he suggested they get married during the home-and-garden show, she continued.
A cold rain and wind gusts up to 70 mph forced the Telegos to exchange their vows inside one of the buildings, part of which Wilson had converted into a makeshift chapel, recalled Kathy Telego, an administrative assistant with the Trumbull Soil and Water Conservation District.
Despite the inclement weather — which also caused the couple to postpone a ride in a hot-air balloon — Telego has nothing but positive memories of the entire experience.
“It was a wonderful day. I always told Tom, ‘I’d marry you, even in a mud puddle,’” she said with laughter.
Other enduring memories of that weekend include the friends they made, as well as the couple’s picture on the front page of the May 4, 1997, Vindicator, she added.