Planning underway for expo
Annual Pottstown Family and Home Expo to be held March 3 and 4
POTTSTOWN » Despite the region’s below freezing temperatures and winter snow, the calendar is moving closer to spring — and the time when area homeowners begin to think about sprucing up the inside or outside of their homes.
One indicator of the coming spring is the annual Pottstown Family and Home Expo, sponsored by the National Association of the Remodeling Industry and Building Industries Exchange (NARI-BIE).
Plans for this year’s expo — an event that was first held in 1953 — are underway. The expo will be held Saturday and Sunday, March 3 and 4 at Coventry Mall, 351 W. Schuylkill Road in North Coventry.
“We want everyone to come out. Even if you’re not looking for a contractor right now — the Family and Home Expo is an opportunity to get some new ideas. It’s a great day out,” said NARIBIE chapter executive Kristine Parkes.
While the venue is the same for this year’s Family and Home Expo — there are a couple of changes to the event. The first change, according to Parkes, is that the expo will be held over two days, instead of three.
“We found that in the past, at-
tendance was not as high on the Friday,” Parkes said. Last year’s event attracted about 2,500 visitors over the three days, she added.
Another change is in the venue itself, according to Parkes. This year, the expo will be held within the mall. For the past two years the event was held inside the former Ross Dress for Less store. That space is no longer available.
“We will be in center court and then branch out in at least two or possibly three directions,” Parkes said. “We have gone to a few of the other expos held at the mall, that have been done in the manner we plan — using pipe and drape.” She added the organization surveyed its exhibitors about the decision.
“We have some great exhibitors that build out great displays — they can still do that in this space,” she added.
The expo has room for at least 50 exhibitors, which is
about the same as previous years. Parkes added that exhibitors can still sign up.
New for this year are panel discussions and presentations geared for homeowners and families that will be held in the mall’s center court throughout the event. Parkes said that while the full schedule is still being developed, one panel discussion will feature several contractors talking about what homeowners should consider when hiring a contractor for a job.
“The schedule will be based on the exhibitors, and so we’re building the schedule as we add exhibitors,” Parkes said. “The sessions will be informational for the attendees.”
Parkes said she found out that other NARI organizations around the country hold similar sessions at their home shows.
“It can be intimidating to go up to someone, at the risk of being sold something. My thought was, ‘this would be a great way to have the exhibitors give some knowledge,’” she said. “The attendees can get a
feel for the exhibitor’s personality and maybe get some questions answered.”
That comfort level, she said, might lead the homeowners to approach one of the exhibitors directly.
The NARI-BIE will have a booth at the event. Attendees can get tickets at the booth that they can then put in buckets at exhibits throughout the venue for a chance to win prizes.
“From that booth we’ll also run a scavenger hunt throughout the mall for the kids,” Parkes added.
Several events from the previous two years have been eliminated from the expo, including the Pottstown Frosts and Pottstown Chops competitions.
As it has been for the past two years, the Pottstown Family and Home Expo is free for attendees. Parkes said the event features community nonprofit organizations in addition to the contractors and NARI-BIE supporter. Among the confirmed nonprofit organizations, according to Parkes are the Pottstown Historical Society
and the TriCounty Active Adult Center of Pottstown. She added that there is room for more.
Contractors and nonprofit organizations interested in participating in the Pottstown Family and Home Expo can contact Parkes at 610-279-4141 or email info@nari-bie.org
The Building Industries Exchange (BIE) of Pottstown & Vicinity Inc. was organized in Oct. 1952, with 33 charter members. In 2012, the Building Industries Exchange affiliated with the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI); a not-forprofit trade association.
NARI-BIE serves Montgomery, Berks and Chester counties promoting integrity within the local construction industry and its allied services. In addition to the Pottstown Family and Home Expo, the organization is known as a local contractor referral organization.