Event to be held outdoors
The Apple Valley Home & Garden Expo is making a return this year with a few changes, after being canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event, hosted by the Apple Valley Chamber of Commerce, will take place outdoors from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 22, at the west parking lot of Eastview High School, 6400 140th St. W. in Apple Valley.
The show will provide an opportunity for residents to come get ideas for indoor and outdoor remodeling or new construction projects.
“It’s just it’s just a great place where you get everything in your whole house,” said Ed Kearney, Apple Valley Chamber president.
The expo is typically held indoors at Eastview with extra activities and some food outdoors. The chamber decided to scale back the event this year with safety in mind during the COVID-19 pandemic. The usual features of the show including animals from the Minnesota Zoo, police and fire vehicles, food and other activities for children will not be present for this year’s expo.
Kearney said this year’s show will be held outdoors, rain or shine. There are usually more than 100 vendors in typical years, but this year’s number of vendors was capped at around 80 to allow for social distancing.
The list of attending exhibitors include the city of Apple Valley along with a variety of home and garden related businesses like roofers, plumbers, contractors and more.
“Most of them are the same ones every year. So that’s really good. That means that they got the staying power and we wouldn’t have them back in the show, if they didn’t have a reputation,” Kearney said. “We do check them out at the Better Business Bureau and we also check with the Department of Commerce, to make sure there’s no actions against anybody.”
Kearney said outside of larger home improvement stores like Menards and the Home Depot, many people don’t know where to go to get certain improvements done or how to reach those businesses.
“This is where you can really get all your ideas, your price ranges, trust factors with people … references,” he said.
The chamber expects the expo to be well attended because people are eager to get outside and the event is something the family can go do together. However, the crowds are not expected be as tightly packed or as heavy as past years because of the event being held outdoors with more space between vendors, Kearney said.
Kearney said this show is being held later in the spring than usual, so many of the vendors are now busy. He noted a friend of his has had trouble finding a vendor to make improvements to his kitchen cabinets as an example.
“We think that the people booking in our show, are probably going to be booking it for late summer or fall remodeling. Because all the vendors one after another, they’re all super busy,” he said.
If the event is canceled due to inclement weather, June 26 has been set as an alternate date. According to the chamber’s website, all attendees and vendors will be required to wear a mask at all times.
For more information about the event, visit applevalleychamber.com and look for the expo in the calendar of events.
