By Steven Stilt
The annual Centralia Home and Community Expo took place over the weekend, and the show drew good crowds and earned positive feedback from vendors, according to organizers.
Marcus Holland, executive director of the Greater Centralia Chamber of Commerce, says visitors showed up in strong numbers on Saturday and Sunday, and many left with useful information related to their homes, vehicles, finances and more.
“People were coming in looking for these vendors to help with home renovations, or looking for certain services. So we appreciate everybody that came out to our event to talk to these businesses and get the information that they needed, Fairview Park Plaza for allowing us to have this space, as well as the food trucks for being outside to provide lunch for everybody, too. So it’s been a great weekend for the home expo.”
Little Egypt CEO students Brenae Pate (left) and Mya Lee greet guests at the CEO booth at the Centralia Home and Community Expo.
The 2024 expo marked the second time the event has taken place at the former Buchheit location in Fairview Park Plaza, where roughly 30,000 square feet of floor space was used to accommodate the 50-plus vendors who were on hand. Holland says the size of the building and its large garage door made it possible for businesses to display more unique items.
“We can pull in vehicles. We can pull in big lawn mowers. We actually even have an SCT shuttle inside. So it’s really just showcasing kind of some big stuff that we can’t usually have at one of our home expos. It’s people like Hot Tubs of St. Louis being able to come over, have multiple hot tubs to be displayed and to be able to provide services to our community.”
Holland says the vendors at the home expo provided strong reviews, but organizers will look at ways they can continue to improve the event moving forward, such as how it is marketed to the community.
Ric Neikas of Colden Brewery chats with guests at the home show on Sunday. (Photo by Steven Stilt.)
Ric Neikas of Colden Brewery chats with guests at the home show on Sunday. Photo by Steven Stilt.
Jeannell Charman from Salem Travel gives a presentation about Scandinavia. Photo by Steven Stilt.
