The Brandon Home and Leisure Show is the Largest and Longest Running show of its kind in Manitoba
It’s been forty eight years after a local car dealer decided to turn the local arena into an offsite showroom for some new vehicles, the Brandon Home and Leisure Show has undergone a complete evolution. It’s come a long way, baby!
This year’s 48th annual event, slated for April 11-13 at the Keystone Centre, will feature at least 165 exhibitors, with the emphasis on both the Home and the Leisure products that our guests are looking for.
General manager Dave Melcosky, in his fifth year as the show’s maestro, said visitors to the Home and Leisure Show in recent years have made it clear they wanted to see more exhibits in the home improvement area.
“Well”, says Melcosky,” you won’t be disappointed! Our guests will enjoy a wider selection in the Leisure side, as well.” “ We have tried to meet our guests expectations with an ever growing diversity in all aspects of the show”, he said.
“We have a wider variety of displays for vendors offering products for the home,” he said. “We have expanded our kitchen cabinet displays, a lot more choices in the renovation lines, sunroom additions, bathrooms, landscaping,widows and doors and interior up grades .”
Doors open Friday, April 11, at 1 p.m. and visitors will have access to a whopping 96,000 square feet of display space covering four rooms of the Keystone. In use for this year’s show., once again, we will be in the Manitoba Room, the UCT Pavilion, the Brandon Curling Club and the Kinsmen Arena —” the latter being a new addition last year certainly gave a fresh feel and much better flow to the show ,” Melcosky said.
We are very proud to have the Brandon Real Estate Board serving as the presenting sponsor, once again in 2014.
Last year, about 10,300 people attended the show, a new record in recent years, when previously crowds were in the 9,500 and 9,700 range. “A lot of it depends on the weather,” said Melcosky. “I want to see us go over the 10,000 mark again for 2014, and feel confident that will happen, weather permitting.”
People entering the 48th Annual Brandon Home and Leisure Show , will have access at the East side of the complex through the Brandon Curling Club entrance. We are very happy to offer a wide array of the best that vendors from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Ontario and the northern States. “For between two and three hours, people at the show can shop at 165 different businesses under one roof — from windows and doors, kitchens and baths, to landscaping to home decorations — and then all the leisure products, of course,” said Melcosky.
“Another growth area are the financial exhibitors that are participating. From mortgages to help finance your renos, to investments that help to secure your future, will be present” says Melcosky.
The standard lineup of boats, bikes, RVs and cars will be on display, of course, but there’s much more in the way of excitement. For instance, everyone attending enters a draw for a couple of fabulous prizes — Kitchen Gallery on Ninth Street and Krevco Lifestyles, are our major prize sponsors, and we will give away over $5000 in the 2 prize draws.
While browsing the aisles and checking over everything that’s new and interesting for 2014,don’t forget to enter the draw, by filling out the ballot on the back of your admission ticket! The draw drum will be to the left of the overhead door, separating the Curling Club and the Kinsmen Arena.
Melcosky says as in 2013 modular homes builders will have a heavy presence at the show, with three actual modular homes being on-site. “The oil activity in southwest Manitoba is spurring this,” he said. “There are so many workers needed in the oil patch and there’s a real housing shortage , so these modular homes are springing up all over.”
The true value of the Home and Leisure Show is proven by the number of vendors who return year after year. If they weren’t enjoying big sales and excellent product exposure the show offers, they wouldn’t be banging on Melcosky’s door to sign up for the following year. “People might not always buy right away,” he said. “But they often do, it is the whole point of the show, exposure of your products and let the visitors take advantage of Home Show Pricing.”
Everything you might want to know about this year’s Brandon Home and Leisure Show can be found on its website, www.brandonhomeshow.ca.
This year’s hours are 1-9 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is still only $6.50 for adults and free for those 12 and under who are accompanied by an adult.
