This weekend’s Home and Garden Show at Becker Village Mall isn’t just about the latest products to spruce things up, it’s also about showing off some of the new stores in the shopping center.

“It’s going to help create traffic,” mall owner Ellen Heaton said today. “A lot of people don’t know what we have here. I’ve had people tell me they didn’t know a veterans center was here.”

Royale Apparel had its grand opening today and other recent mall clients include Village Cafe, Unique Photography, Riverside Consulting and Exclusively Yours Boutique.

The show begins Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will also be held on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

There will be events in the old Belk store, the mall’s center court and outside, Heaton said.

Outside there will be inflatable attractions for children, a U Sell It event where people can bring cars, boats and motorcycles to sell as well as a car show.

“U Sell It, we came up with that idea in Wilmington,” said Michael LaVeine, manager of ProBuild in Roanoke Rapids. “You drive around and you see people with cars and motorcycles for sale, this is a great opportunity to bring them where a whole bunch of people are coming through.”

ProBuild is a strong believer in the Home and Garden Show. “We want to see it grow. It allows people to get in front of a potential customer,” LaVeine said. “It brings a number of manufacturing reps.”

There will be representatives with knowledge on tax credits on remodeling, he said, and the show will give people a chance to see the latest lawn mowers, lawn and home care equipment and grills. “There are a lot of good people here,” he said. “The Roanoke Rapids Sanitary District, it amazed me to see the good information they had on water.”

While exhibits are set up in Belk, there will be an Earth Day program at the center court, Heaton said.

Some of the businesses will offer discounts at the show. “Everyone goes for different reasons,” she said. “Some are building houses. Some are remodeling. They go and look at new products. They get ideas and make good contacts.”

The show is also a good way to keep money in Halifax County, Heaton said. “Every time you spend dollars in the Roanoke Valley it goes around seven times.”

A portion of the profits from registration will go to Habitat for Humanity, LaVeine said, and there are still spots available.

Call him at 910-612-5162 for more information.