Cooking demos, display booths and a detoxifying foot bath are just some of the features at the Lodi Home and Garden Show going on today and Sunday.

The forecast calls for rain, but most of the booths are indoors and packed with information about home and garden.

Four exhibition halls are filled with vendors offering information about outdoor barbecue islands, spas, plants, roofing, flooring, solar energy, art design, cleaning products and more.

Stop for a break and watch a cooking demo, and then saunter over to Miller’s Gourmet Dip to try different kinds of dips. This was Saul Garcia’s first time at the Lodi show.

“It’s fun. The weather is bad, but people are showing up and trying dips,” he said.

Many other vendors were there for the first time as well, including Marakkech Import, which displayed Moroccan handmade art and sinks.

Vikki Sandor was displaying Central Valley editions of Home Improvement and Remodeling magazine, which is available at local home stores such as Classic Living in Lodi, she said. The first issue for the valley came out in September.

Other vendors, like Aztec Solar, were veterans at home shows. Matt Miller said that Aztec Solar does a lot of business in Lodi.

“Solar is the rage in California right now,” he added.

While there weren’t a lot of visitors on Friday, those who came seemed to enjoy the show and were carrying bags full of goodies and information.

Those who needed a break could stop and get a demo massage (and learn more about the system, if they get hooked).

“There’s lots of things to get ideas,” said Petra Sabedra, of Galt, who went to the show with her husband Alex. “I like the flooring and gardening stuff. I like to see the outdoor barbecues. It’s fun.”

While many vendors came from out of town, there were plenty of locals too, including M. Wood Designs, which has a Lodi office and does design work for home owners or people who want custom-built homes.

“I was expecting it to be a little slower today,” because of the rain, said Michael Wood.

source : www.lodinews.com