The 29th Annual Home and Fun Expo will drop at the Spanish Fork Fairgrounds June 24-25, which organizers envision as an opportunity to bring families together to embrace an event designed with them in mind.
Spanish Fork has been home for the expo from its inception, and the Home and Fun Expo has always embraced its vision as an occasion for families to spend time together to explore the many outdoor recreation possibilities at their fingertips.
Originally created and managed by Ron Payne of Spanish Fork, when he chose to retire he asked fellow event organizer Sylvia Andersen to take over the event and keep it running.
“I hesitated because I have a lot of other shows that I do,” Andersen said.
The realities of COVID meant that the Home and Fun Expo, like every other event, struggled during 2020 and 2021, but Andersen said she looked forward to offering the event to the community and building upon Payne’s vision of offering an event that is unique and meant for everyone.
“My goal has always been to bring families together. One of the elements of our outdoor recreation show is to have families come and find something they can do together.
“Our whole goal is instead of dad going hunting and fishing with his buddies, he takes his family,” Andersen said.
With that overarching goal in mind, Andersen has invited a multitude of vendors to offer ideas on how families can do just that, not only in the great outdoors, but in their own back yard.
During the two-day event, families can participate in workshops in everything from testing kayaks and paddle boards, fitness workouts, learning how to tie a fly for flyfishing, and many others, including a BB-gun range for youth.
All the activities are free, including admission tickets, which is exactly what Andersen had in mind from the onset.
“We don’t want mom and dad to be nickel and dimed, so the activities are free. That was our goal. When you go to other expos the demographic you typically see is 90 percent adult male, five percent their sons, and five percent women. Ours is a completely different mix of demographics.
“Our events are typically 90 percent families, five percent single adults and five percent young adults,” Andersen said.
The scouting program will be hosting several the activities, including the archery and BB gun events, as well as the fly-tying activities.
Do-it-yourself workshops include Dutch oven cooking classes, tips for window washing and even a workshop on guidelines for reverse mortgages.
Andersen said all the activities are sponsored by organizations with similar goals for the family to enjoy doing things together, whether at home or in the great outdoors.
Concessions will be available for the hungry and thirsty, and since the event will take place in the Tennis Building at the Spanish Fork Fairgrounds, it will be indoors and climate controlled.
The event begins June 24 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on June 25 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Entrance is free, and you can get tickets by visiting thebesthomeshow.com and registering.
“We really feel like it is a show designed for the Spanish Fork area. We want the community to know that this is their show,” Andersen said. (Davis is editor of Serve Daily.)
