2010 Cleveland Outdoor Adventure Show

Can Cleveland handle two “outdoors” shows each year? Answer = probably. If you could only go to one, would this be the one? Answer = definitely. The venue is newer and brighter, the show has more exhibitors and the entertainment is, well, more entertaining.

I attended the opening afternoon of the Cleveland Outdoor Adventure Show yesterday and enjoyed every minute of my time there.  Located at the IX Center near Cleveland Hopkins Airport, both the venue and the parking lot can adequately handle the show and all the cars of both exhibitors and attendees.  Admission is $10 with children under 10 being free.  (Go online at http://www.outdoorontheweb.com/ for $3.00 off.) Parking is still $8.00 per car.

Entertainment is non-stop.  Pick up a program before you enter and take a moment to select the performances you are interested in. With shows going in all corners of the exhibition center, you need to be organized to avoid missing anything. Here’s my short list of things I enjoyed: (See below for a slide show of the action.)

Randy Oitker, professional archer, puts on demonstrations that have to be seen to be believed. He holds the Guinness World Record for shooting six balloons simultaneously with six arrows from one bow. Amazing! Or would you believe shooting four LifeSavers all 16” apart with four arrows, all at once? Also amazing. His shows are three times daily.

Bwana Jim is a zany character that does a wildlife show with critters from around the world. He’s entertaining and the seating is a great place to relax after walking the show floor.

The Bass Tub, a semi-length, rolling aquarium with largemouth bass is the site for Keith Johnson giving a talk on Bass Tactics and Dan Armitage talking about ice fishing and Kids Fishing 411. Again, plenty of seating.

Tad Bowen, dog trainer, gives demoes three times daily with his Frisbee catching dogs. These dogs have performed in all the Cleveland sports venues, for the Indians, Cavs and Browns. You’ll stand here – no chairs.

Michael Waddell’s BONE COLLECTORS, Nick Mundt & T-Bone (Travis Turner) of the Outdoor Channel show are in a booth for the entire event to talk with their fans. They also speak on stage daily and share their expertise with the audience.

Jim Beverly, retriever trainer, puts on six shows daily covering a variety of topics of interest to the hunter who works with a retriever.  According to his bio, “Jim has been training dogs since the early 1960's. His ability to evaluate and understand each individual dogs' personality allows him to do what is needed to solve a specific problem, or motivate an animal to behave and perform in a positive manner.” He’s available for one-on-one counseling.

On stage one you’ll find a variety of other speakers talking about fishing and scouting.  On stage two, the topics include all things hunting.

Lastly, kids get a free trip to the trout pond. Drop a line into the big oval, fish tank and pull out one of a hundred trout or so. As I arrived at the tank, James Fannin and Nicholas Villegas of La Grange were both trying their best to entice some close by trout. Within minutes, James had set the hook in a nice size fish.

In addition to the entertainment, expect to find all sorts of vendors for hunting, fishing, camping, RVing, as well as hunting/fishing lodges and vacation destinations. Next week we’ll explore some of the various destinations you might want to consider.

Hours for the event:

Friday, 19th -      10AM to 8PM
Saturday, 20th -  10AM to 8PM
Sunday, 21st -     10AM to 5PM

Times for the attractions can be seen here.  Click here to see a slide show of the attractions at the bottom of my article on Examiner.com.


You can also see my other articles on photographing outdoor activities or wildlife.