Special Events

2008 Home Improvement Show

Experts from HGTV’s “Design on a Dime” and PBS’s “The Victory Garden,” Pastry Chef Keegan Gerhard, The Royal Chef Darren McGrady, and Chef Kris Winkelman of Fox Sports Net and WGN headline the 46th annual Milwaukee/NARI Home Improvement Show.  The Show runs Thurs., Feb. 7, through Sun., Feb. 10, at the Wisconsin Exposition Center at State Fair Park in West Allis.

This year’s presenters include:

	Kelly Edwards, a Design Coordinator for HGTV’s “Design on a Dime” in Chicago. She discusses how to use a little ingenuity to transform everyday purchases into amazing designs. Presented by The Home Depot, she will be appearing Fri., Feb. 8, at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., and Sat., Feb. 9, at 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
	Michael Weishan, the six-year host of America’s oldest and most popular gardening TV show, “The Victory Garden” on PBS, will share almost four decades of horticultural experience. He will be appearing Sat., Feb. 9, at 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., and Sun. Feb. 10, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
	Chef Darren McGrady, known as “The Royal Chef,” spent 11 years as the senior chef in Buckingham Palace, followed by four years as Princess Diana’s personal chef. He will be appearing Sat., Feb. 9, at noon and 4:30 p.m.
	Chef Keegan Gerhard, the Corporate Pastry Chef for Las Vegas Gourmet Imports, organizes and serves as master of ceremonies for “The National Pastry Team Championships,” “The World Pastry Team Championships,” and the “Food Challenge Series” televised on The Food Network. He will be appearing Thurs., Feb. 7, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Fri., Feb. 8, at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
	Chef Kris Winkelman, co-author of Babe & Kris Winkelman's Ultimate Game and Fish Cookbook, is the host of “Kris’ Kitchen” on the “Good Fishing” and “Outdoor Secrets” shows televised on stations including Fox Sports Net and WGN-TV. She will be appearing Sat., Feb. 9, at 2 pm. and 6:30 p.m., and Sun., Feb. 10, at noon and 3 p.m.
	Kelly Edwards, recently called “The MacGyver of Design” by a national radio host, is the Design Coordinator of HGTV’s “Design on a Dime” in Chicago. On the show, Edwards comes up with creative solutions to design dilemmas, staying within a $1,000 budget.

Originally from a town just outside of Chicago, she received her bachelors degree in business and began working in Corporate America before realizing she needed to be somewhere she could use her creativity. She moved to Los Angeles and, after several jobs in television, she took a job working behind the scenes on one of the L.A. “Design on a Dime” teams. It was on this show that Edwards learned the fundamentals of giving homeowners a comfortable space that they can call their own.

“It was so much fun being able to incorporate high-end design principals with a budget – it gave me the opportunity to think outside the box,” Edwards said. After three years as a design assistant in L.A., she returned home for the new Chicago version of “Design on a Dime.” Her goal is to show viewers that with a little ingenuity, they can transform everyday purchases into amazing designs.

Michael Weishan has entertained audiences with his illustrated gardening talks for over a decade. From 2001-07, he was the host of America’s oldest and most popular gardening TV show, PBS’s “The Victory Garden,” where he shared his design tips, expert advice, and trademark sense of humor with gardeners of all levels. He appeared frequently on various other national programs as well, including spots on the “CBS Early Show” and NBC’s “Today Show.”

Weishan was born in Milwaukee, where he first began gardening at the age of 5. He founded his own design/build firm, Michael Weishan & Associates, in 1986 -– a practice he still actively heads. He has also shared his 35 years of horticultural expertise through writing – first in his own quarterly newsletter and then for Old House Journal. From there, he went on to publish his first book, The New Traditional Garden in 1999. A contributor to numerous national magazines and periodicals over the last decade, Weishan is the former Gardening Editor of both Country Living and New Old House magazines. He has authored two other books: From a Victorian Garden (2004) and The Victory Garden Companion (2006).

Darren McGrady, known as “The Royal Chef,” was the personal chef to Princess Diana for four years until her tragic accident, and was previously a senior chef in the Royal kitchens at Buckingham Palace for 11 years, traveling around the world with the Queen and the royal family. McGrady has cooked for four U.S. Presidents as well as more than 100 kings, queens, and heads of state. Prior to his royal service, he trained at the Savoy hotel in London and obtained a bachelors degree in culinary arts.

In 1998, after declining an offer to be Private Chef to Prince Charles, McGrady moved to the United States and is now employed as a private chef in Dallas. He has appeared as a guest on CNN’s “Larry King Live,” cooked on the “CBS Early Show” in New York, covered the Royal Wedding on CNN, and appeared on “Good Morning Texas,” CBS 11, WFAA News, and the BBC and SKY television and radio in England and across Europe. He also teaches cooking classes, and his first cookbook, Eating Royally, was released in August 2007.

Keegan Gerhard, named one of the nation’s top 10 pastry chefs of 2002 and 2004 by both Chocolatier and Pastry Art & Design magazines, is the Corporate Pastry Chef for Las Vegas Gourmet Imports. Gerhard ran the kitchen of a French bistro in San Diego before working as the assistant to the celebrated Master pastry chef, Jacquy Pfeiffer, the Alsace-born owner and founder of the French Pastry School in Chicago. He went on to be the pastry chef for Charlie Trotters Restaurant, the Waldorf Astoria and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. He was also the Corporate Pastry Chef for Dean and DeLuca, and Executive Pastry Chef of Four Seasons Chicago.

In the 2001 Pastry World Cup, he served as technical advisor to Team USA, which brought home the gold medal. In addition to being featured in many publications, Gerhard has been on the Discovery Channel’s “Great Chefs of America” numerous times, as well as The Travel Channel and CNN. When he’s not busy preparing delicacies in the pastry shop, Gerhard spends time organizing and serving as master of ceremonies for “The National Pastry Team Championships,” “The World Pastry Team Championships,” and the “Food Challenge Series” televised on The Food Network.

Kris Winkelman, wife of well-known fisherman and hunter Babe Winkelman, hosts the “Kris’ Kitchen” segment on the nationally syndicated outdoor shows “Good Fishing” and “Outdoor Secrets,” televised on Fox Sports Net, WGN-TV, The Outdoor Life Network, The Men’s Channel, The Great American Country, and The Sportsman’s Channel.

Like most people, she only had a handful of standard recipes for game, fish, and venison. “But when your husband spends half his year on the road hunting and fishing,” she said, “it doesn’t take long to become bored with the basic recipes.” Her search for new and intriguing ways to prepare a wide variety of fish and game led to her segment and Babe & Kris Winkelman's Ultimate Game and Fish Cookbook.

Kris also writes a newspaper column on wild-game cookery. Her goal has been to develop tasty, easy-to-prepare meals using readily available ingredients. “This isn’t about gourmet cooking,” she said. “It’s about gourmet meals that anyone can make.”

DeAnna Radaj is a nationally recognized speaker on a variety of interior design topics ranging from healthy home design, color therapy/theory, designing for companion animals, and healthy nursery and children’s rooms, to her successful series of business workshops from the Designing the Business of Your Dreams series. Radaj directs various seminars and workshops at Alverno College and other centers and businesses through her company Bante Design LLC.

“Designing spaces that are not only beautiful and comfortable, but also bring out the client’s personality,” is her design philosophy. She has a bachelors degree in marketing from Marquette University and an interior design degree from MATC. She has been featured in M Magazine, MKE, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and Milwaukee Home Magazine, and she is the author of Designing the Life of Your Dreams from the Outside In and Feng Shui for Teens.

Her topic at the Milwaukee/NARI Home Improvement Show is “Top 10 Tips for Everyone and Every Space.” Her tips incorporate feng shui and healthy home design advice in an easy-to-apply way that anyone can use in their home or office.

Tom Feiza, Milwaukee’s “Mr. Fix-It,” will give a seminar titled, “Just Fix It – The Absolute Best Repair Products.” He’ll solve the most common fix-it problems using state-of-the-art tools and techniques to help attendees achieve some surprising results. In addition to hot repair tips they can use instantly, attendees will receive a useful handout and free products.

Feiza helps listeners of his call-in radio show with their home repair questions every Saturday from 7-9 a.m., on AM 620 WTMJ. With over 45,000 listeners each hour, it’s the top-rated Saturday radio show in Milwaukee.

A regular on television talk and news show, Feiza also reaches more than 500,000 homes with his weekly question and answer column in over 80 newspapers. He has written feature stories, hosted weekly television shows focusing on home improvements and repairs, and has been featured in a nationally distributed “how-to” tape series. Feiza consults in the area of home remodeling and construction, and he performs home inspections.

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 have aired, and Gnorski remains a regular on “FOX 6 Wake-Up News.”  He will answer any questions 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.

Melinda Myers, 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.  She will discuss “Affordable Landscape Makeovers,” helping homeowners discover affordable ways to add a fresh look and new life to their existing landscape. She will feature plants that add color, texture, and form to landscape plantings year round, and share ideas on furnishings and structures that add interest and comfort to decks, patios, and outdoor living spaces.

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 several garden books, including 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.

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

Ver Halen – The Pella Window Store Seminar/Demonstration Stage

Thursday, February 7
1:00 p.m.:    Tom Feiza – Mr. Fix-It – sponsored by J & B Construction
3:00 p.m.:    “Green Building” Panel Discussion Mark Brick, CR of B & E General Contractors, Kevin Hogan of Focus on Energy, Andy Pace of Safe Building Solutions, and Tony Rink, CR of Renovators Ltd.
6:30 p.m.:    DeAnna Radaj – “Top 10 Design Tips for Everyone and Every Space”

Friday, February 8
Noon:    Melinda Myers
2:00 p.m.:    Kelly Edwards – HGTV’s “Design on a Dime”
4:30 p.m.:    Tom Feiza – Mr. Fix-It – sponsored by J & B Construction
6:30 p.m.:    Kelly Edwards – HGTV’s “Design on a Dime”

Saturday, February 9
11:00 a.m.:  Kelly Edwards – HGTV’s “Design on a Dime”
1:00 p.m.:    Michael Weishan – PBS’s “The Victory Garden”
3:30 p.m.:    Kelly Edwards – HGTV’s “Design on a Dime”
5:30 p.m.:    Michael Weishan – PBS’s “The Victory Garden”

Sunday, February 10
11:00 a.m.:  Michael Weishan – PBS’s “The Victory Garden”
12:30 p.m.:  Gus Gnorski – FOX6
2:00 p.m.:    Michael Weishan – PBS’s “The Victory Garden”

Kennedy Hahn Appliance/American Cooking Demonstration Stage

Thursday, February 7
2:00 p.m.:    Chef Keegan Gerhard of Las Vegas Gourmet Imports and The Food Network
4:00 p.m.:    Chef Victor Zamora of the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee
7:00 p.m.:    Chef Keegan Gerhard of Las Vegas Gourmet Imports and The Food Network

Friday, February 8
1:00 p.m.:    Chef Keegan Gerhard of Las Vegas Gourmet Imports and The Food Network
3:00 p.m.:    Chef Keegan Gerhard of Las Vegas Gourmet Imports and The Food Network
5:00 p.m.:    Chef Victor Zamora of the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee
7:00 p.m.:    Howard Lutz – West Allis Cheese & Sausage Shoppe

Saturday, February 9
Noon:          Chef Darren McGrady – The Royal Chef
2:00 p.m.:    Chef Kris Winkelman – “Kris’ Kitchen” on WGN and Fox Sports Net
4:30 p.m.:    Chef Darren McGrady – The Royal Chef
6:30 p.m.:    Chef Kris Winkelman – “Kris’ Kitchen” on WGN and Fox Sports Net

Sunday, February 10
Noon:          Chef Kris Winkelman – “Kris’ Kitchen” on WGN and Fox Sports Net
1:30 p.m.:    Chef De Cuisine Darin Wisniewski of Kil@wat – Intercontinental Milwaukee Hotel
3:00 p.m.:    Chef Kris Winkelman – “Kris’ Kitchen” on WGN and Fox Sports Net
4:30 p.m.:     NARI Foundation Prize Raffle Drawing

Cosponsored by the Milwaukee/NARI Home Improvement Council, Inc., and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the 2008 Show will provide Milwaukee/NARI, the area’s leading home improvement and remodeling industry resource for more than 46 years, with the opportunity to have its members provide consumers with “A Celebration of Home,” the theme for the Show.

More than 325 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, bathrooms, decks, cabinets, windows, siding, countertops, lighting, landscaping, additions, wall covering, rec rooms, roofing, fireplaces, and more.

In addition, the Show’s Outdoor Living Area will feature garden areas, a deck, and outdoor cooking component. There will also be special attractions, including the American Standard “Ingenuity Tour, “The Sherwin Williams Interactive Painting Area, the Focus on Energy “Green Remodeling” display, and the Schlossmann’s Dodge City Vehicle and House of Harley motorcycle displays.

Hours on Thurs., Feb. 7, and Fri., Feb. 8, are 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.; Sat., Feb. 9, 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.; and Sun., Feb. 10, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.  Admission is $6 in advance, $8 at the door on Thurs. and Fri., and $10 Sat. and Sun.  Two-day tickets for the Show will also be sold at the door for $12.  Tickets for seniors 55 and older are $5, with a special price of $4 at the door on Thurs, Feb. 7, for Senior Day.  Children 12 and younger get in free, and there is free childcare for ages 3 – 12.

For more information, visit www.milwaukeenari.com or call 414-771-4071.

NARI WEB SHOW COUPON

2008 EXHIBITOR LIST

MILWAUKEE/NARI ANNOUNCES ADVANCE TICKET LOCATIONS FOR HOME IMPROVEMENT SHOW

SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS ABOUND AT 2008 MILWAUKEE/NARI HOME IMPROVEMENT SHOW

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

MILWAUKEE/NARI SHOW OFFERS VARIETY OF ADMISSION DISCOUNTS AND PRIZES

MEMBER COMPANIES PROVIDE SUPPORT TO HOME IMPROVEMENT SHOW

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