LEWISTON – Haven’t got a teenager in the house?

No matter. Bring that gadget that confounds you to the Androscoggin Business to Business Trade Show and get answers.

A seminar called “Technology Tools: How to Buy What You Need and How to Use What You Have” is one of the headliners at the annual trade show, which offers attendees the chance to view 200 exhibits, schmooze with thousands of other business folks and drop in on workshops geared toward making life easier.

“There are so many new gadgets, it’s overwhelming, particularly to middle managers who’ve been in the business a while,” said Paul Badeau, marketing director for the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council, which sponsors the show. He and an advisory group of about a dozen people hit upon the idea for a user-friendly tech workshop after sharing their common frustration with gadgets.

“Sometimes we’re in the position of having a new hire show us a thing or two about surfing the Internet or using a BlackBerry … it can be really intimidating,” said Badeau.

Workshop attendees are encouraged to bring their electronic gizmos – PDAs, GPS units, laptops – to get answers from experts from Unicel, L.L. Bean and Advance Microsystems, who will demonstrate products before opening up the show-and-tell session.

“We’re all at a point where we learn just a fraction of what we need to know to keep going, but never have the time to learn the capacity to take it to the next level to make our jobs and lives easier,” he said. He predicts the workshop will be popular; two sessions of two hours each are offered, one before noon and one after.

Another workshop on the U.S. Postal Service’s tailored products for small business is planned, and there will be a special tribute to the Maineiacs and their win of the President’s Cup.

The show – the largest one-day business trade show in the state – is set for Thursday June 14 at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee. It begins with a kick-off breakfast at Bates College, with a senior executive from Fairpoint Communications delivering the keynote.

Then it’s off to the Colisee, where exhibition space has been sold out for months. Badeau said an enhanced show guide – almost three times the size of last year’s – contains lots of information about the Twin Cities as well as the exhibitors.

“This allows us to use the show guide as a marketing tool,” said Badeau. “We’ll have pieces in it such as ‘Spending a Day in L-A’ and the ‘Top 10 Employers.'”

The guide will also have a list of superlatives – little known facts about the community such as its low crime rate and its rank as No. 1 in economic development investment in Maine.

The day will be capped with a Business After Hours, featuring food from some of L-A’s top eateries: Fish Bones, Fuel, Mac’s Grill, DaVinci’s, Gritty’s and Uncle Troy’s.

A business card is requested for admittance to the trade show. Registration for the workshops are not required, but those who do register will be eligible for door prizes. The breakfast, which is sponsored by the chamber of commerce, is sold out.