63rd annual Sport & RV Show in GR March 13-16

Wed, Mar 5, 2008    to del.icio.us

GRAND RAPIDS — Michigan's biggest show for hunters and anglers returns to DeVos Place, 303 Monroe St. NW, March 13-16.

The Ultimate Sport & RV Show was first held in 1946. This year's 63rd annual edition will offer new outdoor gear, features, seminar leaders, fishing boats and specialty vendors, including many major company exhibits. A dozen fishing boat dealers are bringing bass boats, walleye boats, pontoons, offshore trolling packages, river steelheading boats, canoes and kayaks to the show. More than 100 outfitters, lodges, fishing and hunting guides, and family vacation destinations will have displays.

The show will feature more than 100 free hunting and fishing seminars on four stages — including Lake Ultimate, a 110,000-gallon indoor lake with fully rigged boats from which fishing experts deliver real-time seminars.

Rob Scheer's Ironjack Timber Team, last seen in Grand Rapids three years ago, returns with champion loggers who rate among the world's best athletes. They pit speed, agility and raw power against each other as they buck-saw and chop logs with 6-foot-long hand saws and 5-pound Australian racing axes. They also climb 50-foot-high poles. Other thrills include ax throwing, springboard chopping, chainsaw carving and obstacle pole racing.

Hundreds of professional mounts of birds, fish and game by members of the Michigan Taxidermists Association — which holds its annual convention during the show — will be on display.

Kids will enjoy plinking at the Pellet Shooting range, tackling the 25-foot-high rock climb, catching a live rainbow from the trout pond, or go up against a 60-pound salmon on the Virtual Fishing Simulator. These hands-on events charge a nominal fee with proceeds donated to charities.

Show hours are Thursday, March 13, from 3-10 p.m.; Friday, March 14, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday, March 15, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday, March 16, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Admission is $9 for adults and $4 for children age 6-14. Kids age 5 and under get in free. Discount coupons are available at participating downtown merchants, 7-Eleven stores and Wendy's restaurants.