PROVIDENCE – Earlier this week, students from several area schools spent their days inside the R.I. Convention Center’s main exhibit hall constructing and putting the finishing touches on their projects that will serve as displays at this weekend’s 74th annual Rhode Island Home Show. Some displays include various playhouses – such as one shaped as
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PONAGANSET HIGH SCHOOL students gather after completing their playhouse project that will be displayed at the 74th annual Rhode Island Home Show this weekend at the R.I. Convention Center. / PBN PHOTO/JAMES BESSETTE[/caption]
Cotoia says there will be more than 1,200 CTE students from around Rhode Island making projects for this year’s home show. Marcantonio said the students are provided about $120,000 and $150,000 worth of materials to help construct their home show projects with assistance from the Governor’s Workforce Board Rhode Island.
Students also receive needed feedback on their projects from industry leaders, as well, Marcantonio said, further building their connections with the construction sector.
“Seniors, after four years of projects, get exposed to the industry after they graduate,” Marcantonio said. “That’s recruitment for the industry overall.” It is not exactly known how many students who have built projects for the home show have gone on to work in construction, but Marcantonio did say it is “a lot.”
Cotoia also said the builders association assists students in “finding their passion” in the hopes they will pursue that particular trade when they graduate high school. He also said students do meet industry leaders who will be vendors at the home show while walking around the convention center during the show’s construction phase making connections that could potentially lead to a future job.
“It’s another tool that we’re providing to these schools and students to identify their likes and foster more connections of our network,” Cotoia said.
The home show, itself, this year will have hundreds of past and new exhibitors, contractors and vendors showcasing their products and providing seminars. Festivities will include the Garden Experience, where the playhouses will be displayed among flowers and trees set up by Central Nurseries and CTE students.
The show will also have the Rhode Island Specialty Flower Show, put on by the Rhode Island Federation of Garden Clubs; the 11th annual Energy Expo that will offer attendees pathways on how to create a zero-energy home through renewable energy; and the Inspiration Showcase that will provide attendees access to design experts on creating new home ideas.
New this year at the home show will be a “House of Brews,” an experience that partners with the Rhode Island Brewers Guild showcasing sample beers from 16 different Rhode Island-based breweries. Marcantonio told PBN that the association wants to grow the show with new categories for it to “morph into something new,” and needs to think outside of the box – or home, in this case.
“That old [showcase] model of just home, just products, it’s a healthy one. But it’s a shrinking thing,” Marcantonio said. “How do we use the show and grow the show, and how we can do it in a different way? That incorporates more industries and more business activities.”
Marcantonio also said contractors and beer share “pretty much the same demographic,” hence the decision to welcome local breweries into the show this year.
Marcantonio said the show has historically averaged about 20,000 people in total attendance. He said the crowd numbers have been lower since the show returned in 2022 after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic but feels the show this year will return to its normal attendance.
When attendees do make it to the convention center this weekend, they will see a completely sold-out exhibit space, which Marcantonio says has not happened for the home show in 20 years.
“That’s a great sign [of normalcy],” he said. “During COVID-19 and after, a lot of exhibitors [felt] doing a public show was not smart anymore, and just do social media, texts and people finding me on their website. They’ve realized that an in-person [show] is still a very viable thing. As human beings, you need to have a social connection and we’re set up for that.”
The show will take place Thursday and April 5 from noon to 9 p.m.; April 6 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and April 7 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets cost $12 for adults, $10 for senior citizens and children ages 15 and younger are admitted free. Tickets are also good for all four days with a wristband allowing for reentry.
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