Home, Garden Show Will Open Today

From radar frogs and butterfly furniture to tabletop waterfalls and slice-and-dice sushi makers, the Ventura County Fall Home and Garden Show, which kicks off today, promises products for weekend fixer-uppers and Bob Vila wannabes alike.

“It’s the biggest home and garden show in Ventura County, and the longest-running,” said Kim Ward, coordinator of the fifth annual show. “It’s just a really great atmosphere, and we’ve got all kinds of things for your home.”

Case in point: the radar frog. Indistinguishable from a typical cement frog perched on a doorstep, the radar frog has a tiny infrared censor. When a house guest or garden animal approaches the radar frog, it chirps “ribbit” in greeting.

Other items on display at the show will be pieces of oak furniture covered with decoupage of monarch butterfly wings. The wings, Ward said, aren’t procured until after the butterfly’s 10-day life cycle has come to a natural end.

For comparison shoppers, the three-day show boasts 250 exhibitors of home items and another 100 showing garden wares. Depending on budget and inclination, a show-goer can carry home a 30-cent construction paper duck for a photo album or a $5,000 home spa with gazebo.

More traditional exhibitors will display washing machines, garden shears, paint swatches, furniture, and roofing and insulation supplies--you name it. Contractors will be on hand for any of the anticipated 14,000 visitors interested in home construction, cabinet resurfacing or kitchen remodeling.

For the antique-minded, the show includes an estate auction of collectibles ranging from hand-carved furniture to vintage dolls.

The show, held at the Ventura County Fairgrounds, runs from 1 to 8 p.m. today, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Estate auctions begin at 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Admission is $5 for adults and free for children under 12. Fairgrounds parking is $1.