Heat wave ushers in home and garden expoHeat wave ushers in home and garden expoMarch 19, 2004
Although I have lived here for more than half my life, I still at times miss the four seasons of the East Coast. At least in New York you can see the changing of the seasons. The leaves change color in the fall and snow comes down in the winter, the rain storms in the spring and the heat turns humid in the summer.
On our California Delta, some years it seems like there are just two seasons -- fall and summer. Especially this past season when the fall didn’t seem to come until almost December as the weather stayed pretty much in the high 70 degrees and then the winter never seems to get much below the 40s. I know some people will think this is incredible, but in our home we didn’t even turn the heat on this past winter. Oh, there were times when we cuddled under the blankets to read a good book in the evening, but for the most part the weather just never seemed to call for the heater.
Technically spring hasn’t even arrived and the weather is already in the mid 80s, and if you can believe the weather forecasters, it is expected to remain so until the end of the month. Minds have already been thinking warmer thoughts as my neighbors spent the past couple of weekends cleaning up the fall and winter debris from their yard, adding fertilizers and planting flowers. As a matter of fact, according to Greg Weisman of Oakley’s Delta Patio and Barbecue, all it takes is four days of good weather and people start heading out to clean up their back yards and get it ready for the family to enjoy for the spring and summer.
That is just one of the reasons that Delta Patio and Barbecue and Oakley’s PlayNation have decided to host a Delta Home and Garden Expo next weekend.
"The idea started last year after the home and garden show at the Pavilion in Concord," Weisman said. "We wanted people to know that they could buy a lot of the same items that they found right in their own area."
The outcome was the first annual expo last spring, where seven business from the area got together and invited people to come out and check out their wares. Mostly all home and garden type businesses from Pittsburg to Brentwood worked together. Weisman said that about 500 potential customers attended the event.
"This year the event has gotten so much busier with 20 to 25 businesses participating," Weisman said. Again, most of the businesses are home and garden related and there will be spas, patio equipment, outdoor play yards, barbecues, plumbing suppliers, garage doors, florists, closet storage companies and more.
Because there were so many businesses interested in the event this year, they decided it needed to be moved to a larger location, so instead of at the Shurgaard Storage building, where Delta Patio and Barbecue is located, it will be held at Play Nation. Play Nation is located near downtown Oakley, just east of Centromart Plaza.
"They have about an acre of property and we can spread out more. Most of the businesses will be out in front," Weisman said. It will also give them room to have a kids jump and play area available, so that parents can bring the kids and take some time to look around at the business items. There will also be demonstrations and time to talk to the experts about different merchandise.
"The best part is that this is a free event. We like that, so people can just come and look and see what we have to offer," Weisman said.
The event will take place March 27 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and March 28 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call Delta Patio and Barbecue at 925-679-3263.
Roni Gehlke's column on life in Oakley appears each week in the Brentwood News.
Distributed by the Contra Costa Times