Home Depot, Herald, Civic Center plan expo

ALBANY — Everything outdoorsmen — and women — and DIY home project enthusiast could ever dream of, and then some, will be part of the Southwest Georgia Home, Garden & Outdoor Expo presented on March 23 by The Home Depot of Albany and hosted by The Albany Herald and AlbanyHerald.com.

The newspaper has teamed with officials with The Home Depot, the Albany Civic Center and a growing list of sponsors to bring the Home, Garden & Outdoor Expo — one of the largest of its kind ever held in the area — to southwest Georgia.

“It’s going to be about anything and everything associated with the outdoors: boating, hunting, camping, fishing, fitness, travel, home building and remodeling, home decorating, pools, patios, gardening … pretty much anything you can think of,” Herald Retail Sales Manager Heather Harrison said of the expo. “It’s been a while since we’ve had an event like this in our area, and the feedback we’re getting is that a lot of people are excited about the expo.”

Flint Ag & Turf, Boaters World of Albany, PowerSports Plus, Tomlinson Outdoor Services, A-1 Roofing & Remodeling, Re-Bath and KRG Roofing have already signed on as sponsors of the expo, which will include free demonstrations, the latest outdoors equipment on-site, radio remotes from I Heart Radio, live entertainment, food and drinks, fun activities, and sponsor raffles and giveaways throughout the day.

The expo kicks off at 10 a.m. and will continue until 5 p.m.

“The timing couldn’t be better,” Harrison said. “(March 23) is early in the spring, the time of year when people are getting ready to get out in the outdoors or start work on some of their remodeling or landscaping projects. The economy has improved considerably in the last couple of years, and that’s incentive to start checking out those fun toys that will be on display at the expo.

“Every vendor participating will either have equipment available to check out, will put on free live demonstrations, and most will have either raffle or giveaway items that everyone who purchases a ($5) admission ticket will be entered to win.”

The expo promises to allow participants to explore the latest trends in home repairs and DIY projects, gardening and landscaping projects, pool/patio/concrete work, bathroom and kitchen ideas, home decorating, remodeling, hunting/camping/fishing gear and all things outdoors.

Harrison said sponsorship opportunities are still available at levels that range from $750 to $3,000, and vendor booths are available at levels from $250 to $1,100.

“This is a living, moving event and there are still a lot of balls in the air right now,” Harrison said. “We’re about six weeks out, so we hope to add on a number of sponsors and vendors in the coming days. We’ve had good response to the expo on Facebook and a lot of people have said they’re excited about what we’re doing.

“People are starting to recover from the storm, and there hasn’t been an event like this of this magnitude around here in years. It’s going to be a big event for our community.”

Tickets to the expo are $5 (kids under 12 enter free) and are available at the Civic Center box office or online at SCNIevents.com/SWGAHomeExpo. Interested persons can also click on a link on the newspaper’s website to enter and win free tickets to the expo.

For additional information about the event or vendor and sponsorship opportunities, contact Harrison by calling (229) 888-9370 or (229) 291-6077 or online at [email protected].