CPI planning home and garden show

2/22/2017

Schoharie County's home and garden show, which will feature more than 25 local businesses, is coming up in a couple of weeks.
The first-ever event will be Friday March 3 and Saturday the 4th at Rodeway Inn & Suites in Cobleskill.
There will be displays, demonstrations and presentations from builders, home decorating businesses, landscapers, real estate firms and many more.
The Home & Garden Show is sponsored by Cobleskill Partnership Inc., the group promoting Cobleskill as a good place to live and work.
Steve Kuiper, branch manager at Trustco Bank in Cobleskill, is coordinating the show. He admitted that the show didn't start out to be a wide-ranging community event.
He was looking for something to generate business for Trustco and was considering a real estate show, something like Albany's Parade of Homes.
"There wasn't enough interest in that, but some folks suggested a home show," Mr. Kuiper said.
He is on the CPI board of directors, so he presented the home show idea to the board.
"They jumped on it," Mr. Kuiper said. "The event changed from something that was kind of self-serving and became a community event."
As Mr. Kuiper began to pitch the show to potential vendors, the enthusiasm snowballed.
"The response was really strong," he said. "It was like, 'Why haven't we done this before?' Well, why not?"
The show will have more than just displays of products and services.
"We've encouraged exhibitors to make it as hands-on as possible and engage the public," Mr. Kuiper said.
He credited the CPI board and others with putting the show together.
"It hasn't been any one person," Mr. Kuiper said. "It's been a team effort."
Hours on Friday the 3rd are 4pm to 9pm and on Saturday the 4th, 9am to 5pm.
For more information, visit
www.cobleskillpartnership.com.