Special Events

2010 Home Improvement Show

NATIONAL CELEBRITIES & LOCAL EXPERTS ON FOOD, HOME & GARDENING TO PRESENT AT MILWAUKEE/NARI HOME IMPROVEMENT SHOW

MILWAUKEE, WI – Experts from HGTV plus national and local chefs headline the 48th annual Milwaukee/NARI Home Improvement Show. The Show runs Thurs., Feb. 11, through Sun., Feb. 14, 2010, at the Wisconsin Exposition Center at State Fair Park in West Allis.

This year’s presenters include:

Sue Whitney – “The Junkmaster,” with presentations at noon and 6:00 p.m. on Thurs., Feb. 11, and noon and 4:30 p.m. on Fri., Feb. 12.

Paul James – from “Gardening by the Yard” on HGTV, with presentations at 2:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on Fri., Feb. 12, and 11:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Sat., Feb. 13.

Colleen Cleek – The Classy Gourmet and Season 5 “Hell’s Kitchen” contestant on FOX, with cooking demonstrations at 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Fri., Feb. 12 and noon and 4:30 p.m. on Sat., Feb. 13.

Steve Whittle – from “Save My Bath” on HGTV, appearing on Sat., Feb. 13, at 1:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. and at 11:00 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. on Sun., Feb. 14.

Tre Wilcox – Season 3 “Top Chef” contestant on Bravo, doing cooking demonstrations on Sat., Feb. 13, at 2:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. and at 11:30 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. on Sun., Feb. 14.

“There was a time when I hated gardening,” admits Master Gardener Paul James. “It was when my dad made me dig the Bermuda grass out of his vegetable garden in the middle of August, and I’d sweat in places I never knew I had sweat glands.”

James has come a long way since then. In 1995, he created “Gardening by the Yard,” a weekly HGTV program, as much of the show is actually shot at his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

“I remember watching gardening shows when I was younger, and I was amazed at how everything was always picture perfect,” James said. “The soil was soft and crumbly. The plants were pest and disease free. And the host never broke a sweat. So I told the folks at HGTV that I wanted to take a different approach. I wanted to do a show that was real.”

That realism, plus his clever writing, zany style, and commitment to all-natural gardening, have endeared James to viewers who understand that gardening can be both a joy and a challenge. “If I’ve got a spot where the soil is awful, or a plant that’s been riddled by bugs or plagued by some sort of disease, I don’t hide it. I feature it. How else will people know how to deal with their own garden problems?”

James began gardening in earnest in 1979, the year he got married and purchased a home. As an undergraduate, he received numerous awards for his research in analytical chemistry. He also studied botany, plant physiology, and plant pathology. In 1983, James received his master gardener certification. But the self-confessed gardening fanatic readily admits that most of what he knows about gardening came from “digging in the dirt, and making more than a few mistakes along the way.”

In addition to writing and producing 26 episodes of “Gardening by the Yard” each year, James has also hosted HGTV’s live coverage of the Tournament of Roses Parade on HGTV for 10 years.

Steve Whittle is one of the nation’s most renowned renovation specialists through his work on television, collaborations with national and regional magazines, and renovating private clients homes. As the official host and green expert of the Better Homes & Gardens “Living Green” Tour, he traveled the country educating consumers on how to live and build responsibly.

In addition to serving as the co-host and carpenter on HGTV’s “Save My Bath” and “Bad Bad Bath,” his professional experience includes projects with numerous magazines including Better Homes & Gardens, Lucky and Glamour. He has appeared on CNN, Better TV, and several regional morning television and radio shows speaking about green living. He has worked on the ESPY Awards, The View, and has completed many collaborations with interior designer Libby Langdon, as their work has graced the covers of Decorating Spaces, Hampton’s Style and Hampton's Cottages & Gardens.

Born into a military family in Milwaukee, Whittle and his family have lived in over 20 states or countries around the world. He has learned throughout his career to be creative and resourceful about how to use and add to existing materials.

Chef Tre Wilcox is a Chantal Cookware spokesperson and nationally known chef who began his culinary career at the age of 16 as a prep cook at a fast food restaurant. That job, which he took to raise money to fix his car, revealed what would become a lifelong passion for cooking and the restaurant business. After working at several fast food restaurants, Wilcox landed a job at Eatzi’s, a Brinker International gourmet market concept that garnered national attention for providing innovative entrees and side dishes, freshly-baked breads, salads, quality produce, cheeses and wines for take-out.

Fluent in both English and Spanish, he worked his way up to a corporate trainer position and was sent across the country to assist in opening five new stores. The opportunity allowed him to participate in Brinker’s rigorous training program, honing his organizational, management and knife skills.

Wilcox broke into the fine dining segment, working with noted Dallas chef David Holben at Toscana and Medditteraneo restaurants. But it was in the kitchen of five-star Abacus that he spread his culinary wings. He was hired by owner/chef Kent Rathbun as a grill cook and quickly moved up to sous chef and then executive sous chef in 2003. His management experience paid off when he was elevated to Abacus’ chef de cuisine and led the kitchen while Rathbun pursued other restaurant projects. While running the Abacus kitchen, the Dallas Morning News food critic Bill Addison described Wilcox as “a culinary trademark name” and awarded him stars for his unique and exciting dishes.

As chef de cuisine, Wilcox received the “Best Food and Wine Pairings” distinction for KRLD’s Restaurant Week. The following year, he won first place in The Dallas Morning News’ Rising Star Chef Contest. He also earned two consecutive nominations for the James Beard Foundation’s Rising Star Chef. The award, sponsored by Gallo of Sonoma, recognizes young chefs that “display an impressive talent and are likely to make a significant industry impact in years to come.”

Despite the accolades, television offered Wilcox his biggest break as a contestant on Bravo’s third season of Top Chef, featuring 15 of the country's rising chefs. During the show, he demonstrated not only his culinary skill and passion for good food, but also a fun-loving persona that has resulted in additional national TV opportunities.

Wilcox is currently pursuing his own restaurant and works as a private chef.

Sue Whitney, the original Junkmaster, is a hockey mom from Minnesota who turned her passion for junk into JunkMarket one of the most successful brand names in the business. Whitney doesn’t see junk; she sees one-of-a-kind furniture and accessories, and in this era of “green,” renewed uses for recycled and re-purposed nostalgia.

With numerous appearances on the “Today Show,” nationally syndicated shows, regular segments on HGTV’s “Country Style,” editor-at-large for Country Home Magazine, and co-author of Decorating Junkmarket Style (Meredith Books), Junk Beautiful and the recently published Junk Beautiful Outdoor Edition (Taunton Press), Whitney is nationally recognized as a leading and respected authority on junking.”

Her stage presentations feature many of her original, one-of-a-kind, re-purposed items for the home, including unique lamps, vases, candle holders, chandeliers, bedding and dining room settings, and outdoor furniture and accessories. As she often says, “Junk is for everyone and anyone willing to see the creative possibilities. It is a unique way of the past being re-introduced to the present that establishes a legacy for the future.”

Whitney is also the founder of the American Junk Club, an online membership club for “junkers” featuring newsletters, how-to projects, junking tips and events, and an e-store for original JunkMarket merchandise.

Colleen Cleek, a mother of three, doesn't let this little thing stop her from striving to be a perfectionist. A native of Papillion, Nebraska, she owns and teaches at her own cooking school, The Classy Gourmet. Her culinary experience, which spans nearly 15 years, is not a product of any culinary school as she is self-taught. According to her, she didn't choose cooking; it chose her.

Cleek was one of the 16 chefs that competed on FOX’s reality show “Hell's Kitchen” during its fifth season, becoming a target of chef, and host, Gordon Ramsay on the season premiere, when she told him that she also teaches manners, after he insulted her signature dish.

Tom Feiza, Milwaukee’s “Mr. Fix-It,” will conduct a seminar on Thurs., Feb. 11, at 2:00 p.m. Feiza’s public appearances combine down-to-earth information with a dash of humor, while his radio call-in show on AM620 WTMJ, which draws over 45,000 listeners each hour, allows him to provide practical solutions to callers’ questions on home repair and related projects.

A writer of a weekly question and answer column that appears in over 80 newspapers with total circulation reaching more than 600,000 homes, Feiza has also written two books on home repair. In addition to radio and print, he regularly appears on television talk and news shows, where he shares his Mr. Fix-It tips.

A registered professional engineer with over 30 years of building management experience, Feiza obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from Marquette University. He consults in the area of home remodeling and construction, and he performs home inspections.

Melinda Myers, “The Plant Doctor,” best known for her user-friendly and practical approach to gardening, has more than 25 years of horticulture experience in both hands-on and instructional settings. During her presentation at 4:00 p.m. on Thurs., Feb. 11, she will discuss “Solutions to 10 Common Landscape Challenges.”

Myers has a masters degree in horticulture, is a certified arborist, started the Master Gardener program in Milwaukee, and was a horticulture instructor at Milwaukee Area Technical College. She has authored 20 books, including Can’t Miss Small Space Gardening, Birds and Blooms Ultimate Garden Guide and Jackson and Perkins’ Beautiful Roses Made Easy: Midwestern Edition.

She hosts “Great Lakes Gardener,” seen on PBS stations throughout the United States, and appears regularly as guest expert on various national and local television and radio shows. Myers also writes the twice monthly “Gardeners’ Questions” column for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and is a contributing editor and columnist for Birds and Blooms and Backyard Living magazines.

Myers has received recognition and numerous awards, including the 2003 Garden Globe Award for radio talent and the Quill and Trowel Award for her television work, both from the Garden Writers Association. She also received the Garden Communicator’s Award from the American Nursery and Landscape Association, the Gold Leaf Award for Arbor Day from the International Society of Arboriculture, as well as the 2007 Perennial Plant Association Garden Media Award.

Gus Gnorski, considered Milwaukee’s best-known handyman, began his broadcast career in 1966 on WTMJ-AM 620. The Milwaukee area first saw FOX 6’s “Ask Gus,” his weekly television show, in 1992. More than 700 original episodes were produced and aired, and Gnorski remains a regular on “FOX 6 Wake-Up News.” He will answer any questions on Sun., Feb. 14, related to home improvement and repairs, offering attendees his experience of almost three decades and teaching them when to do it themselves and when to turn to the professionals for help.

The complete seminar schedule for both stages, which is subject to change, is as follows:

Seminar/Demonstration Stage

Thursday, February 11
Noon: Sue Whitney – “The Junkmaster”
2:00 p.m.: Tom Feiza – Mr. Fix-It
4:00 p.m.: Melinda Myers, “The Plant Doctor”
6:00 p.m.: Sue Whitney – “The Junkmaster”

Friday, February 12
Noon: Sue Whitney – “The Junkmaster”
2:00 p.m.: Paul James – “Gardening by the Yard” on HGTV
4:30 p.m.: Sue Whitney – “The Junkmaster”
6:30 p.m.: Paul James – “Gardening by the Yard” on HGTV

Saturday, February 13
11:00 a.m.: Paul James – “Gardening by the Yard” on HGTV
1:00 p.m.: Steve Whittle – “Save My Bath” on HGTV
3:30 p.m.: Paul James – “Gardening by the Yard” on HGTV
5:30 p.m.: Steve Whittle – “Save My Bath” on HGTV

Sunday, February 14
11:00 a.m.: Steve Whittle – “Save My Bath” on HGTV
12:15 p.m.: Gus Gnorski – FOX6
1:45 p.m.: Steve Whittle – “Save My Bath” on HGTV

American TV Kennedy Hahn Appliance Cooking Demonstration Stage

Thursday, February 11
1:00 p.m.: John Gillespie – Host of “Water & Woods” on FSN Wisconsin
3:00 p.m.: John Gillespie – Host of “Water & Woods” on FSN Wisconsin
6:30 p.m.: Chef Angelo Cattaneo of Flambé Catering & Personal Chefs

Friday, February 12
1:00 p.m.: Chef Dean Brazaitis – Palms Bistro & Bar
3:00 p.m.: Colleen Cleek – The Classy Gourmet and Season 5 “Hell’s Kitchen” contestant on FOX
5:00 p.m.: Chef Sandy D’Amato – Sanford Restaurant
7:00 p.m.: Colleen Cleek – The Classy Gourmet and Season 5 “Hell’s Kitchen” contestant on FOX

Saturday, February 13
Noon: Colleen Cleek – The Classy Gourmet and Season 5 “Hell’s Kitchen” contestant on FOX
2:00 p.m.: Tre Wilcox – Season 3 “Top Chef” contestant on Bravo
4:30 p.m.: Colleen Cleek – The Classy Gourmet and Season 5 “Hell’s Kitchen” contestant on FOX
6:30 p.m.: Tre Wilcox – Season 3 “Top Chef” contestant on Bravo

Sunday, February 14
11:30 a.m.: Tre Wilcox – Season 3 “Top Chef” contestant on Bravo
12:45 p.m.: Tre Wilcox – Season 3 “Top Chef” contestant on Bravo
2:30 p.m.: Chef Brian Bernier and Lisa Docter of the Paramount Grille & Bakehouse
4:30 p.m.: Milwaukee/NARI Foundation Prize Raffle Drawing

Cosponsored by the Milwaukee/NARI Home Improvement Council, Inc., and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the 2010 Show will provide Milwaukee/NARI, the area’s leading home improvement and remodeling industry resource for more than 48 years, with the opportunity to have its members provide consumers with ideas on how to “Put a Little Love in Your Home,” the theme for the Show.

More than 300 exhibitors will fill over 700 booth spaces covering the entire exposition center and feature providers of thousands of home improvement products and services, including kitchens, decks, cabinets, windows, bathrooms, siding, lighting, landscaping, media rooms, wall covering, rec rooms, roofing, fireplaces, and more.

In addition, the Show’s Outdoor Living Area will feature a “neighborhood” comprised of a variety of landscaping and hardscaping, plus playhouses built by area technical school students that will be raffled off at the conclusion of the Show. There will also be special attractions, including an Interior Design Room Display contest between area college students, the Solar Decathlon Meltwater Project house built by the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee School of Architecture, manufacturer displays, the Time Warner Cable “Relaxation Station,” and an automotive display by Uptown Ford Lincoln Mercury.

Hours on Thurs., Feb. 11, and Fri., Feb. 12, are 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.; Sat., Feb. 13, 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.; and Sun., Feb. 14, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Admission is $6 in advance, $8 at the door on Thurs. and Fri., and $10 Sat. and Sun. Tickets for seniors 60 and older are $5.00, with a special price of $4.00 at the door on Thurs., Feb. 11, for Senior Day sponsored by Callen Construction, Inc. Children 12 and younger are free and there is free childcare for ages 3 – 12 presented by Pekel Construction & Remodeling, Inc.

2010 MILWAUKEE/NARI HOME IMPROVEMENT SHOW EXHIBITORS LIST

PRINT SHOW ADMISSION COUPON HERE

MILWAUKEE/NARI HOME IMPROVEMENT SHOW ADVANCE TICKET LOCATIONS ANNOUNCED

2010 MILWAUKEE/NARI HOME IMPROVEMENT SHOW TO “PUT A LITTLE LOVE IN YOUR HOME”

NATIONAL CELEBRITIES & LOCAL EXPERTS ON FOOD, HOME & GARDENING TO PRESENT AT MILWAUKEE/NARI HOME IMPROVEMENT SHOW

2010 MILWAUKEE/NARI HOME IMPROVEMENT SHOW TO FEATURE SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS

MILWAUKEE/NARI SHOW OFFERS VARIETY OF ADMISSION DISCOUNTS AND PRIZES