The 2007 Power Show Ohio is set for Jan. 26-28. Show hours are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Admission at the door is $5 per person, with children under 12 admitted free.
Free tickets are available from power equipment dealers throughout Ohio. Farm and Dairy also has free Power Show Ohio tickets. Visit our office at 185 E. State St., Salem, Ohio, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday to pick them up.
This will be the 37th year for Power Show Ohio. That’s almost four decades of tractors, logging equipment and all terrain vehicles.
The event takes place at the Ohio Expo Center, also known as the state fairgrounds, in Columbus. The city is the capital of Ohio and has more than 730,000 residents.
It takes four buildings at the Ohio Expo Center to house all the displays. There is 300,000-square feet of exhibit space.
In 2006, 31,427 people attended Power Show Ohio.
More than 250 exhibitors will set up booths at the show this year.
Planning Power Show Ohio is a year-round job. As soon as one show is over, coordinators are already looking at what worked and what didn’t in order to improve the next one. The promotion of the show starts in July each year and builds through January.
Dennis Alford, Power Show Ohio manager, said the best part of planning the show is working with exhibitors. He likes arranging the locations of the exhibits and putting the power show puzzle together.
Exhibitors will show off 600 different brands of products this year.
Things to know about PSO
Power Show Ohio began in 1971 with the intent “to create sales for the members of the association,” said Dennis Alford, Power Show Ohio manager.
The show is run by the Ohio-Michigan Equipment Dealers Association. The association aims to promote power equipment dealers and help its members with commercial and industrial advancement. The group has existed under several names over the years, but the first meeting of the original organization – Buckeye Implement Dealers Association – took place Feb. 14, 1893.
Although PSO has a lot of attractions for farmers, the show also focuses on the needs of those outside agriculture. Construction equipment, lawn and garden equipment and farming equipment are all on display.
Power Show Ohio is a “good opportunity to see a wide variety of power equipment,” according to Alford. But that’s not the only reason to go. Attendees can also do some quick comparison shopping and talk to manufacturing representatives.
Fun facts about Power Show Ohio
Power Show Ohio experienced a big change in 1996 when the Voinovich Livestock and Trade Center was added to the show. Displays previously housed in the Rhodes Center and Lausche Building moved to the new location.
Visitors to PSO in 1977 needed their hats and mittens. A blizzard caused so many problems that year that the show had to be postponed for a day. Of course, there have also been years when temperatures stretched toward the 60-degree mark, according to show manager Dennis Alford.
The power show draws exhibitors from 20-25 states and some from Canada.
Ten years ago, Farm and Dairy reported an increase of lawn and garden displays at the power show. Show managers were also expecting to see more ag equipment on display that year.
PSO has always been held the last weekend in January, although the event was only two days when it began.
