PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The Presque Isle Fish and Game Club’s Spring Sportsman’s Show welcomed thousands of visitors after a three-year hiatus.
COVID-19 put the annual exhibition on hold for three years, but the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Gentile Hall teemed with visitors as the event returned March 25-26.
Typically around 4,000 people attend the show, one of the club’s major fundraisers. On Saturday alone, more than 3,000 swarmed in to visit vendors and enjoy demonstrations and children’s activities. Final figures are not yet available, but club officials said proceeds will help fund youth programs, including scholarships to the 4-H Camp and Learning Center in Bryant Pond.
A large line of people snaked out the door on a bright and sunny Saturday, and despite Sunday’s snowstorm attendance was good, officials said.
“It’s good to be back after three years of not having the event, and everybody is very happy that we’re back with the Presque Isle Fish and Game Sportsman’s Show,” said Nick Archer, event chairman.
Families fish at the L.L.Bean Trout pond during the Presque Isle Sportsman Show that took place on March 25 and March 26 at Gentile Hall on the University of Maine at Presque Isle campus. (Paul Bagnall | The Star-Herald)
Excited kids with their parents lined up for the L.L.Bean fish pond, at which young people can practice catch-and-release fishing. Around 200 trout were donated for the weekend by Micmac Farms & Fish Hatchery, and were later returned to the farm to be sold.
One of the newcomers was Riverbed Art, which sells natural artwork collected along the Aroostook River by Caribou residents Luc Daigle and made by his wife Kim Chabré.
“The materials are all from the Aroostook River,” Chabré said. “We make angels, mobiles and also art that’s framed illustrations featuring some of the pebbles and glass that we find in the river.”
Another first-time booth was the nonprofit organization Operation Game Thief, which distributed information about how to report Maine poachers.
DC Gun Sales of Woodland attended their first Sportsman’s Show with a booth featuring lever-action repeater rifles, magnums and bolt-action Winchester as their display centerpiece.
Snowshoe maker Brian Theriault shows off his traditionally crafted snowshoes during the Presque Isle Sportsman Show that took place on March 25 and March 26 at Gentile Hall on the University of Maine at Presque Isle campus. (Paul Bagnall | The Star-Herald)
Artisan Brian Theriault of Fort Kent demonstrated traditional snowshoe making. Theriault makes his snowshoes from local wood with prestretched rawhide for additional flexibility. His shoes are made for off-trail use in deep show, he said.
Vendors attending the Sportsman Show were treated to Presque Isle hospitality with a vendor dinner at the Northeastland Hotel with help from local nonprofit Ignite Presque Isle, Archer said.
The club is grateful to the University of Maine at Presque Isle for providing Gentile Hall and to Ignite Presque Isle for making the Saturday night vendor dinner possible, he said.
Visitors speak with Aimee Nichols (left), territory manager of Blue Feeds, which showcased Native Dog Food for canine athletes during the Spring Sportsman’s Show in Presque Isle. (Paul Bagnall | The Star-Herald)
