61st Annual Pottstown Home Show: Welcome to Home & Hospitality with NARI-BIE

What signs tell you that a home, inn or hotel welcomes you? Why, the Pineapple, of course. Since the beginning of colonial history, the pineapple has come to exemplify the open hearths and culinary abundance here in the colonies. The juicy fruit grown and available from the Caribbean was really imported from Brazil and Paraguay by the Carib natives, a fascinating story by itself.

American lore suggests that sea captains of New England, who sailed among the Caribbean Islands, returned to the colonies bearing their cargo of fruits, spices and rum. According to the legend, the captain would spear a pine-apple on a fence post outside his home to let his friends know of his safe return from sea. The pineapple was an invitation for them to visit, share his food and drink, and listen to tales of his voyage. As the tradition grew, colonial innkeepers added the pineapple to their signs and advertisements. Soon lintels, furniture, finials and bedposts carved in the shape of a pineapple were a common sight at homes and inns across New England.

History suggests that the first European experience with the pineapple was that of Christopher Columbus in November of 1493 on the island of Guadeloupe. Columbus returned to Europe with his many “discoveries,” the pineapple among them. The pineapple, a sweet and exotic tropical fruit became an uncommon and coveted commodity thereafter, even being depicted in an official portrait of King Charles II of England receiving this symbol of royal privilege in the 1600’s.

The tradition has continued, and the pineapple motif has expanded and has been applied everywhere. Frequently the pineapple symbol is found decoratively in homes, hotels and restaurants to signal the presence of warmth, hospitality and welcoming arms.

From March 6th through the 8th the 61st Annual Pottstown Home Show will be putting out their pineapples to welcome visitors to come share the warmth and hospitality of the NARI-BIE (Building Industry Exchange) to be held at the historic Sunnybrook Ballroom.

In fact, NARI-BIE has so embraced the Hospitable Pineapple motif that they will be offering a FREE pineapple recipe book with recipes gathered from homes, hearths and kitchens from around the area to Home Show attendees. Whether you are a fan of Hawaiian Pizza, or Pineapple Meatballs, or traditional Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, the book will have something for everyone who loves pineapple.

Coming to the Home Show to review new products, styles and materials that are available is a great way to start the year, especially if your family is considering a home improvement project, expanding the home or business, reclaiming the basement, adding areas to the backyard, redesigning your surrounding landscapes or considering installing “Smart Home” technologies. And talking about technology, each day NARI-BIE will sponsor a drawing each day for an iPad Air for one lucky attendee.

Visitors can attend the show daily with the re-entry ticket from their first visit as well. Any large project will entail many details and this is the time to get questions answered, plans drawn out and book solid time for 2016 projects. This home show prides itself on the daily presence of the business owners and not just sales staff. The owners are there for the public to answer any and all questions about their process, procedures, quality, budgets and recommendations. You really get to know the company that will be on your site, in your home or on the roof.

Since 1952, NARI-BIE (National Association of Remodeling Industries- Building Industries Exchange), a not-for-profit trade association has been serving the construction industry and their allied businesses. NARI-BIE provides many benefits, meetings, education, training, promotions and in general, good business practices. NARI-BIE has set a very high standard of expectation for performance and production of and by our skilled contractors and associates. Guided by a code of ethics our companies offer the consumer the highest level of confidence to be found.

What is your plan for attending the Home Show? Ann Abbott visited the 2014 show and was asked how important the show experience was, and she answered. “The amount of snow last year caused us to lose power for days and I don’t want to go through that again so I’m looking for information on generators. I have a lot of questions and before I invest, I need to feel confident that the generator will meet the needs of my family.” Needless to say that Ann’s family also looked at the snow blowers, security systems and insulated window options as well. “Coming to the show is a great way to figure out how to make the changes in our home to keep us safe and comfortable.”

As the exhibitors ramp up their presentations and décor, the many committee members and associates of NARI-BIE are getting into the season with all of their new products and samples. There are many new faces this year and we are looking forward to introducing them to the community.

The Hospitality Pineapple best represents the open arms of the show because community is what NARI-BIE members embrace. The Pottstown community and extended area is alive, growing with expanding housing, small and large shopping venues as well as home-grown individually owned businesses. Buying locally, servicing locally and building locally all enhance and the areas growth well being.

The NARI-BIE community is once again reaching out to the consumer community to engage their attention to the quality and diversity of the building trades, associated services and the availability of local company offerings. What better way to meet the builders than a festive weekend celebrating hospitality?

Join Us! Daily iPad Air Drawings, Cook Book Giveaways, Pineapple Treats, Shred Event, & More!

For more information on the Home Show, NARI-BIE or to join, please visit our website and click on home show, nari-bie.org.