THE FACTS:
1st Annual Expo: March 7-8, 2009
Location: Mississipi Horse Park
Speakers: Felder Rushing, Norman Winter, Nellie Neal, Milo Burnham

Over 3,500 people came from across Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama to attend the first “Everything Garden Expo” presented by the Starkville Area Arts Council. Participants filled the Mississippi Horse Park on March 7 & 8, enjoying dozens of outdoor vendors and nationally known speakers along with packed children’s activity sessions.

The weekend kicked off with a Friday night “Welcome Event” for all 60 of the vendors. The vendors were also pleasantly surprised to be treated to a complimentary hospitality suite during the entire weekend of the expo. Low booth prices for the vendors allowed them to pass on lower prices for the attendees. At the close of the weekend, the majority of the vendors sold out of their products! All 60 businesses represented have requested to return to next year’s expo due to their high volume of sales and the hospitality given to them from the Starkville community.

Garden enthusiasts were able to access all of the Expo offerings for a nominal $5 entry fee that included a shopping bag. Many people attended both days to hear more of the speakers and purchase additional items. A couple from the Mississippi coast heard the event publicized by Felder Rushing, an expo speaker, and stayed two nights in Starkville just to hear all of the speakers. They returned home with $600 worth of items they bought at the event alone.

The vendors and speakers targeted a wide audience with offerings from lawn care and landscape architecture to rose care and vegetable gardening. All of the speakers even waived their speaking fee because they felt this was such an important and unique event for the region and are already eager to come back for future events.

While the adults pursued the vendors and listened to informative lectures, even the smallest participants had activities to enjoy. The one and two hour children sessions offered kids engaging hands-on experiences. The young gardeners learned about such topics as pot planting, growing food, and the life cycle of butterflies.

The level of sponsorships for this first year event proved to be tremendous. Mississippi State University has already expressed interest in being the headlining sponsor for the 2010 expo. The “Everything Garden Expo” promoted such an integral portion of the university and opened a completely new venue for the university to reach those who could benefit from their wealth of information and resources on gardening, agriculture, and related fields.

In preparation for the event, Expo committee representatives consistently heard, “We have been waiting for this for years! How can we help support it?” Many media outlets even offered continual free publicity, and the outlets that received paid advertisements offered additional coverage at no extra charge. All of the sponsorships and in-kind donations came because these businesses and individuals realized the importance of this event for the people of this region and wanted their names to be associated with this landmark weekend.

Not only is the Expo important to the people of the region, it is important to the region itself. According to early predictions by the Mississippi Horse Park’s Bricklee Miller, the economic impact of the weekend is estimated to be around $400,000 to $450,000. In its first year, the “Everything Garden Expo” has already proven to be a beneficial addition to the community for years to come.

For more information on the “Everything Garden Expo” or other Starkville Area Arts Council events, contact the SAAC office at (662) 324-3080.