PHOTO COURTESY THE HOME & GARDEN SHOW

For 10 days, the 43rd annual Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show, which typically attracts more than 300,000 visitors, will be taking over the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown.

Spanning 10 acres, the show, which takes place Friday, March 7 through Sunday, March 16,  comes fully equipped with interactive displays and activities that range from tours of a 1,560-square-foot model home built by Buckhorn Showcase — an Amish-owned and operated company — to exploring the Pennsylvania Food & Wine Festival, which offer samples of foods, sweets, wines and whiskies.

“As I say every year, there’s always something new at the Home Show,” says Mark Moore, executive director of the Pittsburgh Home & Garden show, in a statement.

Although there are new vendors each year, a show favorite will be making a reappearance. The Farm to Table Expo, which debuted in 2019, will be returning for all 10 days of the show; small local growers and food producers will be in attendance to share their produce, meat, cheese, and honey with show goers.

Gardening guru and noted writer Doug Oster, who has appeared at the event every year since 1998, also will be providing gardening advice to attendees.

“This is my Super Bowl,” Oster says. “It’s an annual event for gardeners that is just an absolute thrill. And, it gets us ready for the gardening season.”

With the cold winter Pittsburgh has seen over the last few months, Oster says he is especially ready to start tending to his plants. With the show being in March, it’s a thrilling time for gardeners because the growing season around the corner, Oster says.

“There’s a tradition with gardeners,” Oster says. “We start [growing] our peas on St. Patrick’s Day no matter what’s going on, whether it’s snowing or whether it’s 70 degrees.”

Much like how the Home & Garden show evolves every year, so does the gardening world. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Oster has seen a rise in the younger age demographic taking interest in growing their own produce and plants.

“I hope that [attendees] learn the importance of these local farmers and artisans, and how important it is to support them,” Oster says.

This year’s special guests include Don Engebretson, an award-winning Minnesota gardener and writer, Lori Verderame, an antique appraiser and TV personality who has appeared on the History channel’s “The Curse of Oak Island” and “Pawn Stars Do America,” and Pittsburgh native Steve Ford, who starred alongside his sister, designer Leanne Ford, on the HGTV shows “Restored by the Fords” and “Home Again with the Fords.”

During the show’s first weekend, Engebretson will speak about his recently published novel “Welcome to Kamini,” which outlines his guide for successful gardening.

Another veteran guest of the Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show, Verderame, best known as “Dr. Lori,” has previously appraised rose-cut diamond earrings from the 1920s at the show that were bought for $3 at an estate sale and turned out to be worth $10,000, according to a news release.

Verderame will be available for appraisals at 12 p.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Friday, March 7 and Saturday, March 8 and at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 9. Attendees may bring one item or photo for appraisals.

Other show features include:

• Pets at Home aisle
• The Biergarten, featuring new brews and various snacks.
• John’s Riverview Café, which is a memorial to John DeSantis, the late Home & Garden Show founder.
• Children’s Village, where kids will be able to play games, read or make arts and crafts.
• The Fort Pitt Division of the Train Collectors Association, one of the largest and most prestigious collectors’ societies in the world.
• Steel City LUG, an adult LEGO group that shows off their displays at all 10 days of the show.

Tickets are $10 online or $12 at the door for adults, $4 for children 6-12 and free for children under age 6. Tickets, show hours and parking info can be found here. The admission fees include all exhibits and activities. A “Free Re-Entry to the Show” will be available to all show-goers, which gives them the chance to return to the show throughout its 10-day run.