Home show offers inspiration
BUTLER TOWNSHIP — The Butler County Home Show did it big this year. Really big.
In addition to the show selling out vendor space for the fifth time in a row, a monster truck was added as a primary attraction.
Daddy's Nightmare Monster Truck was tall in the parking lot on a snowy day Saturday at the show at Family Sports Center.
Bob Grill, who owns the truck and does rides, events and fairs in the Pittsburgh area, was glad to be at the home show.
“The kids love it,” said Grill, who lives in Penn Hills.
The truck, a Ford F-250, is green with a 460 motor, 66-inch wheels, eight seats and a bed. But it's what the truck allows Grill to do, more than what it features, that he is most proud of.
“We've done stuff for children's hospitals, the Make-A-Wish Foundation,” he said. “Some of the people that we deal with, we kind of inspire them to stay out of trouble.”
But the truck wasn't the only attraction at the show. Bill Schaudt Wood Creations of Cranberry Township had a display. Schaudt wielded a chain-saw to carefully craft a bear out of wood amid the snow flurries.
While the wooden creatures were originally made as Christmas gifts, Schaudt, who is a construction worker, turned the creations into a business eight years ago.
“It's a nice change of pace (from construction), and people are usually happy when you give it to them,” he said.
Inside, where it was warmer, show director Rocco Lamanna was satisfied with the turnout. He said he was grateful to Clearview Federal Credit Union and Empire Roofing & More for sponsoring the free admissions and free parking so more people could come to the event.
Lamanna also estimated that 80 percent of the vendors were returners from previous years, and 20 percent were new.
One of those new vendors was IFC Installation Associations, which marketed insulated concrete foams. The foam is built as a casing of the wall, with the concrete poured in.
IFC's Tim Oesterling explained that this makes the wall more energy efficient and stronger.
Back again was Kenneth McDonald Plumbing & HVAC, which was the title sponsor this year. McDonald noted that both attendance of the show and business as a result of the show have been “fantastic.” He also said the show gives him an opportunity to interact with customers.
“It's nice to put a face with a name and talk to them about their experience and issues,” he said.
Jon and Abbey Brown came to the show to check out the goods. Jon Brown, who has been to several home shows, thought the Butler home show held up well.
“For the size of it here, it's pretty good,” he said.
Abbey Brown checked out the wood slabs to potentially remodel their kitchen, and came away similarly impressed.
“They're really unique,” she said. “Something you don't see every day.”
The show ended Sunday.
