Saturday, February 03, 2007

 
WESTERN VIRGINIA SPORTS SHOW RETURNS FOR 20TH YEAR.

Now in its second decade, a sprawling and popular outdoor show will open its doors at Augusta Expoland near Staunton, Va., the weekend of Feb. 16-18. It goes without saying that an outdoor sports/travel show is a fine way to dispel the winter blahs.

"With more than a 50 percent increase in arena space for vendors and visitors, as well as everything from free hot-air balloon rides to Virginia’s largest game display, we expect the 2007 sport show to be our greatest ever," said Mark Hanger of Churchville, founder and manager.

"We’ll have more than 200 vendors of outdoor gear and apparel, as well as displays and guides from throughout North America and Africa," he added.

As usual, the show will feature several outdoor contests, rainbow trout fishing pool, exhibitors showing the latest hunting and fishing equipment, as well as free seminars on outdoor skills throughout the weekend. A new addition in 2007 will be the Big Buck Contest, North American class (deer harvested outside Virginia) as well as a newly created Ladies Class of competition.
How-to seminars by leading experts invariably attract standing-room-only audiences at the Western Virginia Sports Show. Several nationally known TV hunting celebrities will also be at the show.

Among those with their own TV shows will be Michael Waddell of Realtree Roadtrips, the number one rated show on the Outdoor Channel; Bob Foulkrod with Bass Pro Hunting TV; Bub Jackson with Outdoor Moments TV; Byron Tabor, world champion archer from Texas Trophy Hunter’s TV; and Bob Walker, owner of Walker’s Game Ear and contributor to Sportsman’s Outdoor Strategies TV.

Other guests will be Chris McCotter, Lake Anna fishing guide and outdoor writer; Neil Selby, nationally known dog trainer; Bill Zearing, owner and inventor of Cody Turkey Calls; Paul Butski, Grand National Turkey Calling Champion; and national junior turkey-calling champion Lance Hanger, son of the show’s founder.

With coyotes being seen these days in every Virginia and Tennessee county, a popular seminar is sure to be Tom Bechdel’s "Calling All Coyotes," a wealth of pointers on how to attract the predators into shooting range. And with so many rivers in the area, pro bass angler Jeff Shank’s seminar on river fishing is certain to attract a large crowd.
Melissa Ball, National Wild Turkey Foundation 2005 artist of the year and local artist Lisa Geiman will be on hand. In the category of "you-can’t-shoot-but-you-sure-can-admire-them" will be Earl Shriver’s "Birds of Prey" display, which includes hawks, ravens and the oldest living eagle in captivity.

The 2007 "Bass Pro King of Bucks Tour" will join the show with their only Virginia appearance this year. So will South River Taxidermy’s "World Class Whitetail Tour" featuring the 10 largest deer ever taken including such legendary deer as the Hole N the Horn buck and the world record black powder Louvstuen buck.

Parker Compound Bows will introduce a new crossbow, and youngsters will get free archery instruction from world champion Byron Tabor at the X-Treme Outdoors USA trailer.
There’ll be an open turkey-calling contest, an annual big-buck contest with a chance to win an adventure hunt, plus a third annual St. Jude’s archery shoot with all proceeds going to the famous children’s hospital.

Hours of the Western Virginia Sport Show are noon to 9 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 16; from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 17; and from noon to 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 18. Food and drink will be available inside the arena.

Augusta Expoland is located between Staunton and Fishersville on I-64 at exit 91.
For additional information, contact Mark Hanger at P.O. Box 606, Churchville, Va. 24421 or call him at (540) 337-7018. The Web site is www.westernvasportshow.com and Hanger’s email address is hangerent@yahoo.com
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