Latest designs at annual Yuma Home & Garden Show

  For anyone whose New Year's resolution was to get to that miracle makeover then the 16th annual Yuma Home & Garden Show is a great opportunity to turn that house into a dream home.

  There is everything for the homeowner under one roof from spas to remolded kitchens and bathrooms, small appliances, as well as master gardeners with the scoop on landscaping, said Rich Rossland, co-owner for American Shows Inc., which produces the event.

  The Home & Garden Show takes place Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Yuma Civic Center. Tickets cost $5 but those with a coupon provided in The Sun get $1 off admission. Children under 16 are admitted free.
 
 All garden seminars and displays are free. Plants will be for sale from Home Depot, Lowe's, Yuma Nursery and the Federated Garden Clubs of Yuma.

  "Anybody who has a house or thinking of buying a house will find a multitude of ideas," Rossland said. "It's the crucial time of year when manufacturers showcase their most exciting items."

  Another popular draw is the $200 cash giveaway taking place every hour. The admission price includes eligibility for all attendees who fill out an entry form. But recipients must be present to win.

  Also returning to the Home & Garden Show this year is Ruth Buzzi, one of the stars of "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In," one of the perennial hits of primetime TV in the early 1970s. Buzzi will meet and greet as well as sign autographs.

  But for many the real attraction is Gary Sohmers of the PBS program
"Antiques Roadshow." In a telephone interview from his home in Framingham, Mass., Sohmers said he is not from or with the "Antiques Roadshow" but "I appear as an appraiser."

  "There are 10,000 people who stand in line for an hour and a half to spend three minutes with me - I'm like a ride at Disney."

  Sohmers is actually only one of 80 appraisers and has been on the PBS program for 11 years. The program tapes six shows a year in cities across the country in which 6,500 tickets are provided. But only 55 lucky people get to appear on TV he said.

  "If you come on to the show with something you know nothing about, you got a good chance of appearing," Sohmers said. "It's not about how much your item is worth, but that's part of the game, it's about its history, how unusual it is. I happen to be the guy in the Hawaiian shirt who appraises all the fun stuff."

  The show in Yuma will not be televised but Yumans will get a "TV-like experience" similar to what they've seen on PBS, Sohmers promised. He said his speciality is weird stuff from popular culture, or anything made of paper: autographs, posters, books or magazines.

  Fans who recognize him call him "the toy guy."

  "I'm a real guy, just a little wound up, who likes to collect them," he said.

  Collectibles is one of the "greenest" businesses that keeps a lot of materials out of the dump, Sohmers said. In this terrible economy, collectibles are a way for those who need it the most to get money.

 But he advises to always get an expert opinion because that Jimi Hendrix concert poster may slip away from the owner at a fraction of its worth. He saved a collector from Tucson recently from letting go of a Babe Ruth autograph for 20 percent of its true value, he recalled.

  Many of those at the Home & Garden Show will be collectible hopefuls who anticipate finding they possess a genuine treasure. There are three levels of collectibles: nostalgia, decorative and investment grade but there is never a guarantee, he said.

  "People who attend get an autographed photo of me and an expert opinion. And some of their items have only emotional value but at that point, it becomes priceless."

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Federated Garden Clubs of Yuma seminars

Friday
10:30 a.m. - Self Watering 5-Gallon Pail Planters
11:30 a.m. - Rose Culture
Noon - Pruning Demonstration
12:30 p.m. - Proper Tree Pruning
 2 p.m. - Citrus in Yuma

Saturday
10 a.m. - Self Watering 5-Gallon Pail Planters
10:30 a.m. - Xeriscape/Entomology
11:30 a.m. - Citrus in Yuma
1:30 p.m. - Composting
2:30 p.m. - Garden Club Western District Meeting

Sunday
1 p.m. - Cactus 101
2 p.m. - Cactus Propagation        

Displays ongoing all weekend:
Children's Tree Trail at West Wetlands
Crop of the Week
Desert Trees and Shrubs
It's so Simple-Soil Makes the difference
Junior Garden Club Youth Display
Robert J. Moody Demonstration Garden
West Wetlands Tree Trail
Why Join a Garden Club?
Wildflowers