Game Fair - General Discussion Forum - General Discussion Forum

If you’re visiting Game Fair this weekend or next, you have a chance to increase your outdoor knowledge and skills.

Whatever the advantages of these and similar outdoors sports shows, they have been used increasingly by promoters in recent decades to gather knowledgeable people in one spot to share information with consumers.

That represents a change from years ago, when attractions of these shows often were more circus-oriented. Think dancing bears and flying squirrels.

Three related trends have contributed to changes in the outdoors sports show industry.

One was the rising prosperity of the middle class, which gave more people more time and money to enjoy hunting, fishing, camping, hiking and other outdoor activities.

Simultaneously, the value of fact-based outdoor information, or what some would call outdoor education, rose significantly. Put another way, people had money and they bought stuff with it — everything from tents to canoes, boats to guns, recreational vehicles to bows and arrows.

That “stuff,” in turn, required increasingly detailed information to maintain and use effectively.

Example: The Lowrance “Green Box,” which was the first mass-market depth finder for anglers.

In and of itself, the Green Box was a nice gadget to own back in the ’60s. But it wasn’t until Al and Ron Lindner of Brainerd and others broadcast TV shows detailing specifically how to use it that its popularity really jumped.

Thus the fortunes of people who sold equipment rose proportionately with those who told people how — and where — to use it.

It was no accident, after all, that the business-building careers of [censored] and Jim Cabela, among many others, paralleled those of the Lindners and other outdoors-information specialists.

Which brings us to a third development that has helped change sport shows:

Outdoors consumers now frequently seek more — and evermore distant — locations to prove themselves in the field with their new gear and information.

In all of these respects, Game Fair, opening today in Anoka, represents yet another opportunity for outdoors enthusiasts to have more fun afield by learning about new equipment — and how and where to use it.

Here are a few of the many experts who will be on hand at Game Fair, and whose information visitors shouldn’t miss:• Jon Kruger: A world champion sporting clays shooter, Kruger will offer shotgunning tips at 2:30 p.m. during each of Game Fair’s six days.

• Loral I Delaney: Many-time state, national and world champion, Delaney, with her husband, Chuck, owns Game Fair. Loral I will give shotgunning tips to women each day at 1 p.m.

• Wendell Diller: A ballistics expert and inventor, Diller will display and explain his “long guns,” while detailing other information important to shooters and hunters. 11 a.m. daily.

• Frank Taylor: If you’ve ever considering falconry as a sport (actually, it’s more of a lifestyle), here’s the guy who can get you started. Available daily at his tent and bird exhibit.

• TR Michaels: A first-rate elk hunter with lots of information for novices and veterans alike. Seminar at noon daily.

• Kyle Thompson. Owner of a company called Prairie Land Management, Thompson can help you manage your land for wildlife. 1 p.m. daily.

• Randy Bartz: A goose hunting expert who follows the birds each fall from Minnesota to Texas. 11 a.m. daily.

• Daryl Cooper: Onetime trainer of bomb- and mine-sniffing dogs in the service, Cooper now owns a canine obedience training business. 2:30 p.m. daily.

Dennis Anderson is at [email protected].

Game Fair ’04

When: Today through Sunday and Aug. 13-15

Where: Armstrong Ranch Kennels, 4.5 miles west of Anoka on U.S. Hwy 10.

Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Tickets: $9 adults, $7 seniors, $4 kids 6-12, free for kids 5-younger

Information: Call 763-427-0944 or go to http://www.gamefair.com