Minneapolis Home + Garden Show - Celebrities & Speakers

Read more about our 2023 Speakers - 2024 speakers to be added later in the year!

Pop Star® Main Stage

decorated by Goodwill

Read more about our Celebrity Speakers below

Click here to learn more about Pop Star®

Meet Leslie and Lyndsay from HGTV's Unsellable Houses

Real estate mavens, design visionaries, business owners, HGTV stars and twin sisters Leslie Davis and Lyndsay Lamb are known for transforming one tough-to-sell home after another. After building PNW-based Lamb & Co., into a successful, full-service real estate and home design company, word of the twins’ talent and exuberant characters spread around the entertainment industry. Leslie and Lyndsay soon landed the incredible opportunity to have their own HGTV show – Unsellable Houses! The sisters’ talent for helping homeowners sell their lifeless, “unsellable” homes shone brightly on the big screen, helping them quickly become go-to experts for homeowners, designers and DIYers around the nation.

Meet Christopher Knight - "Peter Brady"

Once and forever a “Brady,” Christopher Knight met life as a child actor, starring as “Peter Brady” in the immortal American classic TV show “The Brady Bunch”. A reluctant icon, Christopher has focused his adult years on interests beyond the entertainment industry, starting with the world of technology and expanding his interests beyond that as an entrepreneur. Most recently, his business endeavors evolved into Chris’ latest off-screen success, when his line of online home furnishings called Christopher Knight Home skyrocketed to an astounding success, quickly landing in homes of millions and sometimes even becoming the subject of international media headlines involving Royalty.

Check out this fun Q&A we had with the Brady Bunch star, Christopher Knight.

Ryan McEnaney, Endless Summer® Hydrangeas

Ryan McEnaney is a garden communicator, landscape designer, author, and spokesperson for Endless Summer® Hydrangeas, the world’s first and best-selling brand of reblooming garden hydrangeas.

McEnaney also serves as national spokesperson for Endless Summer® Hydrangeas, First Editions® Shrubs & Trees, and Easy Elegance® Roses. To support this, he has been quoted in publications such as Real Simple, Better Homes & Gardens, and Martha Stewart Living; has appeared on television throughout the United States; and travels the country educating homeowners on how to be successful in the garden. His approach revolves around fun, breaking down barriers to gardening, and creating a welcoming space to collaborate.

Click here to learn more about Endless Summer® Hydrangeas and the Pop Star® collection

Stephanie Hansen

Author, podcaster, brand amplifier, and social commentator behind StephaniesDish.com and @MakersofMN. It all began in 2005 when Stephanie March (Food Editor for Mpls.St.Paul Magazine) and Stephanie Hansen started the radio show @WeeklyDishmn on the Twin Cities station FM107.1.

Bjorn Freudenthal Homeowner Advisor/VP - New Spaces Design/Build/Remodel

Bjorn is a dual citizen who grew up in Helsinki, Finland and moved to Minnesota after an exchange-student experience that gave him a taste of America in his youth. He has an appreciation for cultural differences and loves spending time fishing & boating with his wife and 2 grown children at the family Cabin in Finland, on The Gulf of Finland and Baltic Sea.

Bjorn is a Qualifying Builder and Certified Aging in Place Specialist who loves good design. He has been building and remodeling design award-winning projects all over the Twin Cities for over 20 years. Bjorn served on the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI MN) Board of Directors from 2006-2011, as President of NARI MN in 2007, and as Vice-Chair for the Strategic Planning Committee for NARI National 2011-2013.

Bjorn speaks frequently on topics like remodeling design for all project types & ages of housing, the remodeling process, and the importance of creating a master plan for your forever home. He has been quoted in National & Local Industry Publications and has made media appearances on topics such as industry trends, sales, leadership and growth, management strategies and business development, strategic vendor relations, market positioning, as well as sales and marketing.

Bjorn's Presentations:

How to Create a Master Plan for Your Home
New Spaces’ Björn Freudenthal will take you through a compelling homeowner remodeling story showing you the before and after transformation of a 1980’s Architect-Designed Home. Experience a 3D virtual tour, photos and floor plans. Learn current design trends, master plan tips and tricks and get you started into design. Björn will be answering any questions you may have about the remodeling process as well.

How to Renovate a Classic Minneapolis Period Home
New Spaces’ Björn Freudenthal will take you through a homeowner remodeling story showing you the before and after transformation of a 1926 Classic Minneapolis Home. You will experience a 3D virtual tour, photos and floor plans, as well as get an exclusive look at this extensive remodel. Björn will be answering any questions you may have about the remodeling process as well.

Appearing on the Green Thumb Theater stage:

Stephanie Thurow Best Selling Author

Best Selling Author, Certified Master Food Preserver, Food Preservation Instructor, Master Gardener Volunteer, Freelance Writer and the author of Can It & Ferment It ('17) - 2nd Edition (released 2020), WECK Small Batch Preserving (2018) and WECK Home Preserving (2020). Stephanie's 4th book, Small-Scale Homesteading, is set to release February 2023.Stephanie first learned the kitchen craft of water bath canning in the mid-2000's. What initially started as a mission to make the perfect garlic dill pickle, quickly morphed into a way of life. She finds great pride in canning and fermenting fresh, organic produce for year-round enjoyment. She finds great joy in teaching others how to preserve food. Her non-intimidating approach to cooking and preserving from scratch puts a novice at ease and her delicious recipes are ones that even a seasoned preservationist can appreciate and enjoy. When she's not in the kitchen, she enjoys spending time with her family, gardening, traveling and fishing. In addition to writing, she also owns a hand-stamped jewelry business. Stephanie was born and raised in Minnesota and resides in Minneapolis, MN with her family and plethora of pets - including a flock of backyard hens.

Courtney Tchida Program Director, MN State Horticultural Society

Bob Dahm Owner of Organic Bob, LLC

Michelle Bruhn Author, Founder at Forks in the Dirt

Michelle is a suburban homesteader from Minnesota. She’s a local food advocate, avid gardener, freelance writer, garden educator and farmers market manager. As the founder of Forks in the Dirt, an information hub for garden and farm-to-table living, she has helped many people grow their own, know their farmer and cook real food year-round; her passion is helping folks Dig Their Food. When not in the garden, Michelle enjoys spending time with her backyard flock, family, and friends while immersing herself in nature, usually with a foraging basket in tow. Born and raised in Minnesota, she believes Nature and plants make the best teachers if only she/we can slow down to listen and learn! Michelle is involved in her local food, farming and garden community as a way to share her love of growing food with others. Her biggest accomplishment is getting her kids to love real food, insects and the perfect green bean as much as she does. She lives with her two boys and the always "handy hubby" just north of St. Paul, MN.

Russ Henry Owner of Minnehaha Falls Landscaping

Gail Hudson Writer & Horticulturist, Northern Gardener Magazine

Award-winning writer, photographer and video producer Gail Hudson has a Masters degree in Horticulture from the University of Minnesota. She writes and photographs gardens for Northern Gardener magazine and Greenhouse Grower, a green industry publication, and produces horticulture videos for the University of Minnesota Extension. Gail is a popular speaker for garden clubs and other organizations on current gardening topics. She’s a garden coach/consultant for homeowners in the metro area. She also runs a community garden, helps care for the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum’s grass collection, and loves to grow perennials, vegetables and water garden plants.

Elizabeth Beck Hennepin County Master Gardener

Beth Beck has been a Hennepin County Master Gardener since 2016. Retired from her career as a software product manager, Beth spends much of her volunteer time creating and teaching adult education courses for Hennepin County. Beth is also a Tree Care Advocate and is working with a team to create a toolkit for teaching all things trees. Her primary focus in her own garden is to create an ecosystem for insects and birds and is focusing on converting her gardens to native plants. A daily survey of activity in the garden provides good evidence if she is succeeding as a steward for the environment. Beth also loves to upcycle items in the garden to add interest as well as protect and support her plants.

Marty Bergland Master Gardener Emeritus

Sonya Burke Hennepin County Master Gardener

Sonya Burke has been a Hennepin County Master Gardener with the University of MN Extension Services since 2015. She joined the speaker’s bureau accidentally while volunteering at the Minneapolis Home and Garden show at the Ask a Master Gardener booth. Upon learning that there was no one available to do the presentation on rain gardens she stepped in and ended up having a wonderful time. Her love of growing things comes from a long line of gardeners and farmers on her mother’s side of the family. Since moving to NE Minneapolis, she has added five gardens to her yard – mostly for natives and other perennial plants - and works with her neighbors to create pollinator corridors. She is obsessed with tomatoes and cucumbers, and wages a seemingly never-ending war with the Creeping Charlie in her flower beds.

2023 Speakers & Celebrities

Pop Star® Main Stage

Meet Leslie and Lyndsay from HGTV's Unsellable Houses

Meet Christopher Knight - "Peter Brady"

Ryan McEnaney, Endless Summer® Hydrangeas

Stephanie Hansen

Bjorn Freudenthal Homeowner Advisor/VP - New Spaces Design/Build/Remodel

Appearing on the Green Thumb Theater stage:

Stephanie Thurow Best Selling Author

Courtney Tchida Program Director, MN State Horticultural Society

Bob Dahm Owner of Organic Bob, LLC

Michelle Bruhn Author, Founder at Forks in the Dirt

Russ Henry Owner of Minnehaha Falls Landscaping

Gail Hudson Writer & Horticulturist, Northern Gardener Magazine

Elizabeth Beck Hennepin County Master Gardener

Marty Bergland Master Gardener Emeritus

Sonya Burke Hennepin County Master Gardener

James Wolfin Conservation Specialist at Twin City Seed

Randy Strobel MN&WI Mycological Society Member

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2023 Speakers & Celebrities

Pop Star® Main Stage

Meet Leslie and Lyndsay from HGTV's Unsellable Houses

Meet Christopher Knight - "Peter Brady"

Ryan McEnaney, Endless Summer® Hydrangeas

Stephanie Hansen

Appearing on the Green Thumb Theater stage:

Get a Booth Quote

​Search the ​Exhibitor List

Search the Exhibitor List