Fresh Ideas Stage presented by Mitchell Heating & Cooling

Check out the lineup for the Fresh Ideas Stage at this year's show, packed with on-trend topics from your favorite home improvement pros. Come listen and learn, meet and greet our celebrities and experts!
Located in booth 301 in the Jim Graham Building. Presented by Mitchell Heating & Cooling. Stage decor provided by Haverty's. A/V sponsored in part by Tech Factory Productions.
Day: | Time: | Speaker: | Topic: |
Friday | 12pm | Cindy Chappell, NC State Extension Master Gardener Volunteer of Wake County | Reducing Deer Damage in Your Garden |
1pm | Allen Mitchell, Mitchell Heating & Cooling | How to Save on Home Heating & Cooling | |
2pm | Tamara Day, Designer and Host of HGTV and Magnolia Network's Bargain Mansions | Home Updates for a Bargain | |
3pm | Joseph Cody, Beau Chateau Kitchen & Bath | Bring Your Kitchen, Bath, & Interior Design to Life with 3D-Modeling! | |
4pm | Rich Woynicz, NC State Extension Master Gardener Volunteer of Wake County | Demonstration: Successful Vegetable Gardening | |
5pm | Karen DiDonato, National Wildlife Federation | Super Pollinators: How to Attract Native Bees | |
Saturday | 12pm | Tamara Day, Designer and Host of HGTV and Magnolia Network's Bargain Mansions | Home Updates for a Bargain |
1pm | Phil Ford, Former UNC All-American and NBA Player | Stepping Through Adversity On and Off the Court | |
2pm | Tamara Day, Designer and Host of HGTV and Magnolia Network's Bargain Mansions | Home Updates for a Bargain | |
3pm | Joseph Cody, Beau Chateau Kitchen & Bath | Bring Your Kitchen, Bath, & Interior Design to Life with 3D-Modeling! | |
4pm | Rich Woynicz, NC State Extension Master Gardener Volunteer of Wake County | Demonstration: Successful Vegetable Gardening | |
5pm | Allen Mitchell, Mitchell Heating & Cooling | How to Save on Home Heating & Cooling | |
Sunday | 1pm | Allen Mitchell, Mitchell Heating & Cooling | How to Save on Home Heating & Cooling |
2pm | Cindy Chappell, NC State Extension Master Gardener Volunteer of Wake County | Reducing Deer Damage in Your Garden | |
3pm | Joseph Cody, Beau Chateau Kitchen & Bath | Bring Your Kitchen, Bath, & Interior Design to Life with 3D-Modeling! |
TAMARA DAY

Designer and host, Tamara Day, seeks to make the aspirational attainable for her clients and fans of her renovation projects. Tamara restores neglected Kansas City homes on Bargain Mansions. Bargain Mansions, which originated on DIY spent two seasons on HGTV and now has found its home at Magnolia Network, is going into its fourth season. When Tamara is not in front of the camera, she is committed to her family, design business, and retail store, Growing Days, Located in Kansas City. Her style, coined "Laid Back Luxe," is synonymous with blending glamour, comfort, and family into the spaces she designs – something she personally prioritizes. As a busy mother of four, Tamara believes homes should be both beautiful and low maintenance because life is stressful enough. To keep up with Tamara and her projects, follow her here on Instagram.
SPEAKER INFORMATION
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Phil Ford, Stepping Through Adversity On and Off the Court
Phil Ford played four years of basketball at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After his sophomore season, Ford started for the U.S. Olympic team that won the gold medal in 1976. He finished his career as the only player in Atlantic Coast Conference history to score over 2,000 points and register at least 600 assists. Ford was the NBA Rookie of the Year with the Kansas City Kings in 1979. In 1988 he returned to North Carolina as an assistant coach. Ford was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in May 1991 and had stints as an assistant coach in the NBA with the New York Knicks and Charlotte Bobcats. Meet Phil and hear his motivational message, Stepping Through Adversity On and Off the Court! Appearance sponsored by The Good Feet Store - Raleigh.
Cindy Chappell, Reducing Deer Damage
Are deer browsing in your yard? Learn ways to deter them and make your landscape less inviting. Cindy Chappell, Extension Master Gardener Volunteer of Wake County will share best practices to minimize the damage caused by browsing deer using a combination of research proven techniques. The presentation will focus on choosing plants rarely browsed by deer and on using exclusion devices, repellents and scare tactics.
Rich Woynicz, Successful Vegetable Gardening
If you are new to vegetable gardening, come learn about how to start growing your own food. If you are a seasoned veteran of growing, come learn a few new ways of making your garden more productive. Rich Woynicz, Extension Master Gardener Volunteer of Wake County will share best practices of gardening from his 30 years of growing in NC and supporting community gardens. The presentation will provide the basics of vegetable garden growing in Central NC including demonstrations of how to plant seeds, transplant seedlings, and do free soil tests.
Karen DiDonato, Super Pollinators: How to Attract Native Bees
Everyone is familiar with the sights and sounds of the European honeybee, but did you know that two of North Carolina’s gentle, native bee species pollinate 120 times more effectively than the honeybee or bumble bee? Come learn how you can help these powerful pollinators live, work and produce the next generation in your own backyard. Karen DiDonato, Master Gardener Volunteer of Wake County and member of the Orchard Bee Association will teach you how to establish the most welcoming habitat for the mild-mannered Mason and Leafcutter bees.