Wednesday was the BC Home + Garden Show‘s opening night. We were invited to come out and check out what’s in store at this year’s Spring show as well as watch the Battle of the Brewmasters on the Cooking Stage (Big Rock Brewery vs Steel Toad).

This year’s Cooking Stage features quite a few local chefs from restaurants such as Torafuku, Cafe Medina, and Tacofino. There are also cheese demos, including from my favorite local cheesemakers – Golden Ears Cheese.

This year’s show features two floors of exhibitors, both floors showcasing some new and returning food vendors.  Oatally Awesome features some delicious Kamloops, BC-made, no preservatives or artificial flavored granola. The Lemon Square is a local company specializing just in freshly made lemon squares. A returning favorite of the show is BKH Jerky, a Dragon’s Den success story from Vancouver, offering customers special show pricing on their different beef and pork jerky. Republic Coffee Roasters makes and sells daily batches of freshly roasted coffee beans within the Lower Mainland, and has also added syrups, Ecuador-made chocolates, and loose-leaf teas. Aji Gourmet Products is located on the 2nd floor, selling fresh hot sauces and condiments made with natural ingredients. While shopping, to add some spice to the show, if you’re looking to stop off and sample anything, check out Old Order Distilling Co.’s both for a simple of their gin or liquer (located on the 2nd floor).

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Not just food obviously, there are also demonstrations and special guest appearances at both the Main Stage and the Garden Stage on the main tradeshow floor throughout the weekend.

A couple of products that I found exciting this year while wandering the show that I potentially use in my home include:

• Yogibo – a local company specializing in entertainment/gaming bean bag furniture. We demoed the chairs and they are super comfy, changes into different styles of seating, and great to rest our feet temporarily! They are currently offering special show prices cheaper than in-store and online.

• Seeding Square – great gardening concept for beginners! I purchased it right away after seeing it. It is a square foot template that color codes and spaces out the holes in which guides you to plant your seeds properly for your vegetable garden. They are currently also funding a campaign to put these guides in schools for children/teachers to learn to garden. Stay tuned for an update on how this goes as I’ll be trying to grow my own vegetables this spring/summer!

Don’t forget to also check out the Habitat for Humanity and SPCA booths to learn more about their initiatives, as well as check out the Ultimate Upcycle Challenge located on the 2nd floor. 

The BC Home + Garden Show takes place this weekend – February 17 – 21, 2016.

Visit: http://www.bchomeandgardenshow.com/ for ticket prices, hours of operations, etc. Discounts for purchasing your ticket online!

Follow @VanHomeShows on Twitter for more photos and updates from the show.