2024 Home Show attracts thousands at new home in East Moline

Ryan Sandness of Davenport was busy looking over windows, doors, fireplaces and many other items Friday, Feb. 16, during the first day of the Quad Cities Builders and Remodelers Association (QCBR) Home Show. But what really caught his attention was the new place the show called home this year. For the first time, the QCBR […]

Ryan Sandness of Davenport was busy looking over windows, doors, fireplaces and many other items Friday, Feb. 16, during the first day of the Quad Cities Builders and Remodelers Association (QCBR) Home Show. But what really caught his attention was the new place the show called home this year. For the first time, the QCBR Home Show was held at the Bend XPO in East Moline.

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“I love this venue. It’s great and it's a good central location. … I know a lot of people didn’t like how the show was presented last year, in two buildings,” said Mr. Sandness, who was one of several hundred people visiting the show during its opening hours Friday afternoon. (The 2024 QCBR Home Show took place Friday through Sunday, Feb. 16-18, at the Bend XPO. The show sponsors included: Seiffert Building Supplies, Electric Doctor and Jackson Generator and Home Services.) For many years, the show was held at the QCCA Expo Center in Rock Island. Last year, it made a change and was split up into two buildings at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in west Davenport. While the fairgrounds had many good features for the show, many people wanted the event back under one roof, said Mona Peiffer, QCBR’s executive director. This year, QCBR Home Show fans – like Mr. Sandness – got their wish as the event returned to a one-building venue. Also like many other people at the show, Mr. Sandness was at the event looking over the 225 booths and more than 115 vendors with no particular project or buying plan in mind. “I’m just looking around to see what’s here,” he added. The Davenport man and other attendees got to see a variety of area businesses showing off many goods and services. They included electric generators, windows, roofing materials, solar panels, kitchen appliances, financial services, shower doors and much more. They also got to see some new features at this year’s show. They included:

• Student Trades Room – Local and surrounding high schools showed benches, chairs, doghouses and more that were auctioned at the Home Show with proceeds going back to the high schools and the QCBR Student Built Home Scholarship Fund.
• Rescue Rooms – Local animal shelters had adoptable pets available for people to see and hold. The QCBR and sponsors also are donating back to these shelters.
• Coat Check – The QCBR has partnered with local kids’ organizations to have a Coat Check. Proceeds from sponsors will help these groups.
• Ice cream – On Sunday, the first 500 people at the show received a free serving of Blue Ribbon ice cream.

In addition to the many customers, the weekend show seemed to be a big hit for the many business vendors. “From the minute the doors opened, people have been curious and stopping by,” said Erik Fincher of Waterproofing & Basement Solutions, Bettendorf. Mr. Fincher added that one of his top goals was to “network and get our name out to the customers.” Another busy person at the show was Kraig Kelley of Kelly Concrete Coatings, a division of Kelly Designs on Concrete, Davenport. In the opening hour, his table already had a line of people who wanted to talk about driveway projects and other work the company might be interested in doing. “I’ve already talked to about 10 people, and we’ve done work for four or five of them. … It’s just nice to talk to the customers,” said Mr. Kelly. Just feet away from the Kelly booth, Emily Mattoon was attracting a crowd at her Aceno Kitchen & Bath table. The Bettendorf business offers a variety of supplies and designs for kitchens and bathrooms. On Friday, Ms. Mattoon had one of the biggest eye-catching features at the show – a big black and white slab of marble called a Panda white marble. She estimated the marble measured 130-by-78 feet and featured a series of free flowing black and white lines. “We’re here trying to get our name out and tell people what we have to offer them,” said Ms. Mattoon. Another business vendor using big features to attract a crowd was Sammy Barger Jr. of the Affordable Metal Manufacturing of Muscatine, Iowa. Mr. Barger had a roof on display to show the many roofing styles and materials his company offers customers. “People just don’t realize how far steel roofing has come in the past few years,” he said as he showed off the roofing materials to a line of customers at his booth. Across the Bend XPO building, another business was using a big display in hopes of catching the attention of customers. Chris Wray, store and sales manager at Fireplace & BBQ Warehouse in Davenport, just received a display unit that shows off some of the “latest and greatest fireplaces” that seemed to be a hit with many customers on the sunny, but cold Friday afternoon. “What’s our goal today? Get lots of phone numbers and emails. … We need to update our contact list,” Mr. Wray added. In addition to making contact with customers, several business reps at the show echoed the feelings of Mr. Sandness – they were impressed by the look and vibe of the new home of the 2024 QCBR Home Show. “I like this place,” said Michelle Rowe, a design consultant with Budget Blinds in Bettendorf. “It’s light. It’s bright and clean. I think it’s going to be great for the show.”