Home & Lifestyle Show pulls in Whanganui people

Tamara Bennetts and Olley Williamson try out the beds. Photo / Lewis Gardner

From relaxing in a massage chair to shopping for appliances and learning to put out a fat fire, thousands of guests enjoyed a busy outing at the Whanganui Home & Lifestyle show.

Parking was at a premium around Springvale Park over the weekend as people streamed into Jubilee Stadium for the show and later streamed out, many carrying paper bags full of purchases.

There were a total of 120 stalls at the show, up on the 100 stalls present last year when Covid-19 made crowd events less popular, NZME Events organiser Renee Murray said.

The food and craft area proves popular. Photo / Lewis Gardner

It was divided into two parts - a general area with a complete range from beds to wastewater treatment options, and a second area for crafts, food and drink.

Visitors paid $2 to get in, and Murray said there would be at least 10,000 people through by the end of the weekend.

Kitchen and bathroom exhibits were especially popular, and there were at least two stalls selling massage chairs.

The show gave exhibitors a chance to talk to people, Murray said, which was better than looking at brochures or a website.

"I think a lot of people are spending money on home renovations and luxury items like spa pools because they can't travel."

She was pleased Sustainable Whanganui was there, with bins for separating waste to make sure a minimum went to landfill.

Misha Kravcenko gave his massage the thumbs up. Photo / Lewis Gardner

Misha Kravcenko, a PE teacher from Upper Hutt, was visiting his wife's hometown and had a go in a massage chair.

His mother-in-law, a nurse, had just bought it and announced she planned on using it every day.

Kravcenko found it excellent, and said he would have to come up more often to use it. It was "softening the blow" of the concreting he had helped with the previous day.

Outside the stadium, the Whanganui Fire & Emergency NZ team demonstrated the correct way to deal with a cooking fire.

Twenty-five per cent of fires happen in the kitchen, firefighter Matt Pa'a said.

The team had a pan with 1.5cm of cooking oil, which was well alight.

The first thing to do is turn off the gas or element, firefighter Ian Tanner advised.

Next, cover the pan with a breadboard, pot lid or oven tray to exclude oxygen. Then go outside and ring 111.

Don't take the pan outside in case you drop it, and don't try putting out a fat fire with water.

Firefighter Astrid Hartnell put on safety gear to show what would happen if that was done - flames shot all the way up the wall behind the stove and across the room.

Throwing half a cup of water on a fat fire sends flames up the wall. Photo / Lewis Gardner