Greenhouse Growers Join Their Expo to EXPO

New partnerships could make the already-big Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market EXPO an even bigger horticultural show.

The Michigan Greenhouse Growers Expo will be merged with the EXPO this December and, if that works out, the greenhouse growers will become a permanent partner, according to Allyn Anthony, executive secretary of the Michigan State Horticultural Society, one of the show’s sponsors.

The North American Strawberry Growers Association also will hold its show in conjunction with EXPO this year – as the bramble growers did last year. A farm marketers’ bus tour was held for the first time last year, and will be held again this year.

All in all, it will add more educational sessions and potentially more trade show exhibitors to the Midwest’s largest horticultural show.

The dates this year are Dec. 8-10 at DeVos Place Convention Center in Grand Rapids, Mich. The strawberry growers will start their sessions the day before.

Also confirmed is the annual banquet speaker: Steve Ford, son of former President Gerald Ford, who grew up in Grand Rapids. His presidential museum is right next to DeVos Place.

Last year, EXPO drew 310 exhibitors and 3,700 registrants, Anthony said. Because of the poor state of the economy, he predicted the number of exhibitors would probably not increase this year, even with the new participants.

The greenhouse growers’ show, previously held in Lansing in early November, will bring in new exhibitors, but 40 percent of those exhibitors already exhibit at EXPO, he said.

The Michigan Greenhouse Growers Expo is a joint production of the Western Michigan Greenhouse Growers Association and the Metropolitan Detroit Flower Growers Association. They will develop their educational programs, working with the Michigan State University Floriculture Area of Expertise Team. Their educational sessions will be open to all who attend EXPO, and all EXPO sessions will be open to greenhouse growers.

The number of educational programs will grow because of the greenhouse growers and strawberry growers – and wine grape growers also plan to add to their program.

EXPO has grown every year since 2001, when the Michigan State Horticultural Society, the Michigan Vegetable Council and the state’s farm marketers joined forces to sponsor one big show.

More details will start to appear on the Web site, www.glexpo.com, by mid-June. The content of many educational sessions from past years is posted on the site.

– Dick Lehnert