NW Flower & Garden Show to go on after sale to Portland firm

Looks like the Northwest Flower & Garden Show is back on.

Founding owner Duane Kelly said Tuesday he sold the 21-year-old show to Portland-based O'Loughlin Trade Shows, a fourth-generation family business that bills itself as the West's largest producer of consumer trade shows.

President Bill O'Loughlin said in a statement that the company will maintain the Seattle event's "high quality and world-class reputation," suggesting no major changes are planned.

"They're acquiring the show because of its stature and prestige," Kelly said. "They want to keep its quality and build on its appeal."

O'Loughlin also puts on the Portland Home and Garden Show and the Tacoma Home and Garden Show.

Tuesday's statement noted that the 2010 Northwest Flower & Garden Show is scheduled for Feb. 3-7 at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center in downtown Seattle.

Although O'Loughlin is getting a late start — planning for the show usually begins in April — Kelly said he's confident the new owner can put it together by February. O'Loughlin did not return a phone call to his office late Tuesday.

The second-largest of its kind in the United States, behind Philadelphia, the Seattle show annually draws tens of thousands of people who come to see its elaborate plant and tree displays, hear gardening experts from around the world and stock up on springtime supplies.

Kelly, 59, said in January that he wanted to pursue other interests and would close the show for good after its five-day run this past February if he did not find a buyer soon. He said he had more than 50 serious inquiries from possible buyers, but the global credit crunch presented "a real problem" for most.

Kelly also owned the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show and sold it this month to a newly formed group of Bay Area business people who plan to keep it going. He listed both shows for between $1 million and $2 million but received a combined total of less than $1 million, he said, declining to be more specific.

"Given the economy, I'm pleased with what I received and even more pleased that the shows will go on," he said. "It would have broken my heart if the shows had not continued."

O'Loughlin named veteran Jeff Swenson as manager of the Seattle event and will keep Kelly as a consultant. O'Loughlin also hired two longtime employees of Kelly's show-production company, Salmon Bay Events: Cyle Eldred, garden and feature manager, and exhibits manager Linda Knudsen.

Amy Martinez: 206-464-2923 or amartinez@seattletimes.com