PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Visitors to northern Maine’s largest outdoor sports show browsed offerings from more than 80 vendors at The Forum in Presque Isle over the weekend.
People of all ages turned out for the Aroostook Sportsman Association’s Spring Sportsman’s Show, an annual reminder of warmer weather to come.
The show is the largest fundraiser for the local association, which is a nonprofit arm of the Presque Isle Fish and Game Club. It is one of Maine’s three major outdoors expositions, which include the Eastern Maine Sportsmen’s Show in Orono and the State of Maine Sportsman’s Show in Augusta. The event marked its second year in an expanded space and drew the most vendors in recent history.
“The show was successful both for attendees and for the vendors,” said Candace Madill, one of the organizers and a member of the Aroostook Sportsman Association. “I’ve heard from a lot of folks who were pretty satisfied at how things went.”
This is the show’s second year at The Forum. It was held in previous years at the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Gentile Hall, which allowed roughly 40 vendors. With rising interest and attendance, the show moved to The Forum last year and garnered more than 60 vendors and 2,000 visitors.
Organizers haven’t tabulated final attendance for this year, Madill said.
The larger space allowed games and children’s activities to be spread out in the back of the building, so families had a space to congregate apart from the other offerings, she said.
On site were organizations ranging from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and Maine Audubon Society to Ducks Unlimited and Baxter State Park.
Also exhibiting were guide services, camps, outfitters, woodworking and leather goods crafters, fly tyers, food companies, dog breeders and more.
One of the popular spots was Katahdin Kennels of Ripley, with owner Terry Oliver. Oliver breeds and hunts with English cocker spaniels, three of which were with him. The dogs enjoyed a tremendous amount of attention from visitors, he said.
“They hunt very close,” he said, explaining why he likes hunting with spaniels. “They don’t range far ahead of you, which is ideally suited for Maine because of its dense cover.”
The always popular fish pond, stocked with trout from the hatchery Micmac Farms of Caribou, and hunting education and demonstration games drew a steady string of participants.
Hundreds of kids and adults tried their hand at shooting rubber-tipped “arrows” from a bow, said volunteer and archer Matthew Trombley of Fort Fairfield. Many had never shot a bow before, he said.
Next door was a laser hunting game, where participants could shoot with a laser gun at a screen where videos of bears, boars, woodchucks and more traveled in the woods.
Both games were led by the Aroostook Sportsman Association, with funding from various sponsors, volunteer Chris Rogeski said.
“They’re very popular. The kids do target practice and learn hunting ethics,” he said. “We’ve received $100,000 in grants over the years for educational supplies and materials for this [laser range] and the bow range.”
Over at the Moose Maine Kids booth, Chance Bragan of Presque Isle and Hunter Jellison of Portland spoke with attendees about their organization, which works across Maine to provide hunting and fishing experiences free to kids and their families.
“Our goal is to get more Maine children in the woods, whether it’s hunting, fishing, hiking or whatever,” Jellison said. “Everything we do is at no cost to the families.”
The group conducts fundraisers to make the trips possible, and last year started a new venture: Dream Adventures, which offers outdoor adventures to children with critical illnesses or disabilities. Last year the group arranged three moose hunts for critically ill children, he said.
Such a show wouldn’t be possible without volunteers, Madill said. Anyone who wants to lend a hand is welcome, and should email director@aroostook-sportsman.com for information, she said.
“I view this as more than just an event for the Presque Isle Fish and Game Club’s benefit,” she said. “It’s a great community resource and we could use many hands.”
