Having set up his booth representing Two Brothers Painting in the dark Thursday, Spencer Shoesmith was relieved to return the next morning to electricity. 

The power came back on just in the time for the North Idaho Home and Garden Show at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds.

“There’s not much new in the world of painting, but we try to live our lives with integrity,” Shoesmith said. 

Kirk and Pamela Johnson come to the show every year with fresh eyes for projects around their home.

“A lot is upkeep, like the window washing or redoing our deck. That kind of stuff that needs refurbishing,” Pamela said. “We look at all the ideas we have and pick one, usually.”   

Kirk said he has a woodworking background and his wife enjoys gardening.  

“I used to do a lot of this stuff myself and now I’m about to turn 76 and have a heart that's only operating at 65%,” Kirk said. “Sometimes things are not so easy for me anymore, so we’re at the weird point where we hire people more.”  

Their home in Post Falls is the first they’ve owned that didn’t come with a water feature, so they’re keeping an eye out for a water element that would add to their property.   

Dan Shields said he wanted to see what was happening among the gardening vendors.  

“I’m just checking out some things if we add on or do some landscaping,” Shields said. “We mostly putter around, we plant pumpkins and zucchini.”   

Miranda Latscha with Architerra Homes said due to popular request, this year’s offerings are more robust when it comes to gardening and landscaping booths among the 100 vendors. 

“In March, people are ready to be outside and be in their garden, so they want to see these venders who have garden items for them,” Latschsa said. 

Kalene Travis, of Travis Painting Company, said they’ve been in business for 13 years and have come to the show for several years running. 

“We’re always looking to make more connections with builders and contractors in the area. We’ve always had great luck with this show, it basically fills up our summer season,” Travis said. 

Many jobs involve traveling around North Idaho, but the company is based in Coeur d’Alene. 

“It’s a small family-owned business and my father-in-law works for us too,” Travis said. “This is a show that really helps us and we’ve been very blessed with the work we’ve had so far.” 

Jenifer Demarre of North Idaho Custom Builders said that although the list of master builders is small, she’s proud many of them are part of the home and garden show. 

"This is a great place to come shop because these are our NIBCA people. We all work together hand in hand on job sites,” Demarre said.   

A variety of educational speakers will present on environmental topics in the Food Court building thanks to New Leaf Nursery.

Put on by the North Idaho Building Contractors Association, the Home and Garden Show takes place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.  

Tickets are $7 at the door, or $5 with a non-perishable food donation. Children 10 and younger attend the event for free.

    Casey and Julie Walton of Kimber Precast huddle over their outdoor fire at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds during the North Idaho Home and Garden Show on Friday.
  

    Suzanne Scheidt addresses an audience at the North Idaho Home and Garden Show about the challenges for the Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer as the population size increases.
  

    Tyler and Amber Drechsel talk Debbie Mykkanen and Maliena Sheffield at the Garden Tour and Master Gardener booth at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds.