Fairgrounds hosts home and lifestyle show this weekend

Kim Dunlap, Kokomo Tribune, Ind.
·3 min read

Apr. 27—GREENTOWN — Nina Broniak carefully hung up her business sign Friday, securing it properly with her hands and then patting down all the creases.

On the table in front of her sat a bag of some of the cosmetics she sells for SeneGence International, an American company that supplies skincare and makeup products, including the brand LipSense.

Broniak is a local distributor and just one of the 83 vendors at this year's Z92.5 Home and Lifestyle Show, happening this weekend at the Howard County Fairground's 4-H Pavilion.

"It's like one big family," Broniak said, referring to the vendors at this year's show that runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

And according to organizers, this year provides a little bit of something for everyone.

"We wanted to come back here," Laura LaManna, general sales manager at Z92.5 and Hoosier FM, told the Tribune during Friday's set-up. "This is our 48th show. But after COVID, we were shut down, and we lost our venue (Kokomo Event and Conference Center). So last year, we brought it back and came out here to Greentown. And we just love that it's a great community event."

Along with dozens of local vendors, LaManna added there will also be several activities geared toward the whole family, including a children's playground area by Fun Factory Outlet, food trucks and high noon yoga.

Adelle Howell is a Z92.5 sales account executive, and while she said she's excited about the overall show, she's also grateful to see so many local businesses want to participate.

"I think this is helping out our community," she said. "I think it's really just about showcasing what our community has to offer as far as the home and lifestyle aspect. And it's a great way for businesses to get their own word out about themselves.

"How many times have you driven by a place and wondered what was inside but never actually gone in?" Howell added. "Well this is a way to discover those places in a one-stop-shop environment. Everything is here in one place, and it's almost like a superstore."

LaManna agreed with Howell.

"Like our slogan says, if it's happening in the community, it's happening on Z(92.5)," she said. "We're very interactive in the community. And we're always supporting our small businesses, local businesses or nonprofit businesses. And I think it's a way for them to give back to us to by coming and supporting us when they can."

Vendor Suzanne Biddle is an office manager for Flags and More a Division of Backyard Gardeners.

On Friday morning, Biddle spoke to the Tribune for a couple minutes about the Home and Lifestyle Show, and particularly what she's looking forward to this weekend.

"This is a great way to get together and see what other businesses have to offer," she said. "It's a good networking tool too. And it's also good for the community. The fact that this was gone for a while and now back in the last couple of years shows that the community wanted it back. It was ready to get back to supporting their local businesses again through something like this."