Mid Ohio Home Show History

The Mansfield Noon Optimist Home and Flower Show began in 1950 to raise funds for the youth in our community. It also helped to promote local businesses in our area.

In 1967, the show underwent a complete revision and reorganization. The secondary theme of the show was changed from “Flower Show” to “leisure living”, and the show moved to the Westinghouse Electrical Workers CIO Hall on East Fourth Street. In 1970 the show was expanded and moved again to the Richland County Fairgrounds to use the new Fairhaven Hall. Then in 1973, it moved again to Richland Mall where over 4,000 people were expected to view that year's show. This would quadruple any previous audience in the show's history.

The show was eventually moved back to its present site of the Richland County Fairgrounds. The show used three buildings to make room for the vendors. The economic downturn in 2008 made things difficult and the show only needed two buildings to house the vendors. In 2020 the show had its only cancellation in its history due to the pandemic. One day before the show was to start it was canceled.

The committee held a show in May of 2021 hoping the restrictions due to the pandemic were at a point that it could be held safely. 2022 will see the show held for two days instead of the previous three days. Concerns over the continued pandemic and shortages in vendor staffing may help make the show more manageable.

How it Benefits the Community

The one thing that hasn't changed over the years is that when you support the show you are also helping the youth of Richland County. It's estimated that a quarter of a million dollars has been turned back into the community after being raised by the home show. The Optimist Club's projects for the youth of Richland County include hundreds of projects that helped thousands of boys and girls gain a better, more optimistic perspective of themselves and their lives.

What Function Does Our Show Perform for the Exhibitor?

It's two-fold: first, it can be an order-writing show when the customer comes to compare and buy. You can count your success in the dollar volume of orders written and leads taken. The audience comes with a set of problems – looking for solutions. They learn from your exhibit and identify a potential solution to their problem. One day somewhere in the future that inquiry might become a sale… and that is what our show is about. Sales!