Planning for the 2018 Nisqually Valley Home & Garden show began before the 2017 banners were hung up, before the 2017 vendors had even started setting up, before the 2017 raffle prizes had been secured and tickets were printed. Planning for this event, which many consider one of the biggest events of the year in South Thurston County, is truly a work of heart. Countless hours are spent securing the venue space, contracting with the event decorators, who make sure our show maintains the professional feel with backdrops for each booth, and making sure our vendor pool is fresh and new for the visitors we invite to participate.
This two-day event brings about a hundred vendors to one place, for a genuine one-stop shopping experience for attendees. Here, show-goers can cross everything off their list: landscaping help, picking up a hanging basket from Jason’s Greenhouse, checking out paint colors from Jerry’s Color Center, and new blinds from Budget Blinds. Show-goers can even grab those must-have Pinterest-worthy home décor items!
All that shopping is bound to leave a stomach grumbling, which is why we encourage our participants to grab lunch while they’re at the show. The Rotary Club of Yelm will be back in the concession stand serving show favorites nachos and chili dogs, and cookies and candy bars if you’re nursing a sweet tooth, The Cattleman will be outside slinging lunch and keeping the caffeine flowing out of their all-new espresso stand, or swing over to Tacos Gaby’s taco truck for a famous burrito.
Making their Nisqually Valley Home & Garden Show premiere this year will be Tenino’s Stone Carvers. They will be on hand both Saturday and Sunday, offering a stone carving demonstration and even giving kids the opportunity to try stone carving out for themselves! Home Depot will be adding to the excitement for kids with a DIY project on Saturday.
Prairie Street Rod Association will be revving up the excitement on Saturday with a Car Show & Shine, sponsored by Ronelle Funk Allstate Insurance. Take a stroll past the cars on display from every era and be transported to those years. Stay for the awards ceremony at 1 and see if your favorites will be taking home a trophy, especially the coveted Mayor’s Choice and Chamber of Commerce Choice awards!
But the show’s icing on the cake will be Sunday at noon when we hear “ooh, la, la!” echo down the halls from our celebrity guest Ciscoe. A perennial favorite, we’re excited to have him back for the second consecutive year. He’ll be sharing gardening tips and tricks, stories, and will be answering questions from the audience.
I want to express a special thank you to the sponsors of this year’s show. We couldn’t put a show of this magnitude on without their generous support and partnership. I especially want to thank our partners at the Nisqually Valley News. Advertising manager Angie is the incoming Yelm Area Chamber of Commerce President; she and her advertising crew has been working tirelessly to make sure our show is the best it can be. Other sponsors deserving of our thanks include our Platinum sponsor America’s Credit Union, and silver sponsors Consolidated Communication and HiLine Homes. Our gratitude also goes out to Yelm Community Schools, Costco of Lacey, KAYO Radio, and the City of Yelm.
As always, there is no admission charged to get into the show, and parking is free. With lots of giveaways from the vendors, you can’t lose heading to the Nisqually Valley Home & Garden Show.
