And then there were six.
This is the season when show promoters roll out the hunting, fishing and boat expositions to lure and hook customers willing to trade cash for adventure. Expect chatter about curing cabin fever and fulfilling bucket lists.
The first of the area shows is the annual River City Hunting, Fishing, RV and Boat Expo at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs. It runs Jan. 20 to 22.
There usually would be seven shows on the calendar, but one of the regulars won't be back this year.
The All-Canada Show canceled stops in Omaha and Des Moines after failing to generate enough interest among exhibitors.
Jennifer Young of De Pere, Wis., the show owner, said Omaha and Des Moines have been solid shows in past years and she hopes to return once the economy and the outdoor industry return to pre-recession levels.
Omaha may have slumped for the All-Canada Show, but it's a big stop for Pheasants Forever's National Pheasant Fest. The event drew tens of thousands in 2005 and 2011.
"Omaha has been a tremendous market,'' said Bob St. Pierre, director of marketing and public relations for Pheasants Forever in St. Paul, Minn. "Hunting, fishing and conservation are all part of the fabric of Nebraska's culture.''
Nebraska's outdoors tradition combined with the sizeable population of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area give any outdoors show two of the basic ingredients for success, he said.
"Add an Omaha media market that's interested in covering conservation and outdoors stories to an attendee-friendly venue like the CenturyLink Center, and you're up to four key factors tipping the scales in favor of success for any outdoors show in Omaha,'' St. Pierre said.
St. Pierre said Nebraskans often ask why Pheasant Fest isn't permanently held in Omaha.
That's easy to answer, he said.
"Pheasants Forever's organizational mission isn't to put on an annual event,'' he said. "Our mission is habitat. Pheasant Fest serves a larger purpose of energizing folks around wildlife habitat conservation.''
Consequently, Pheasant Fest lands somewhere fresh each year to engage a new audience and cultivate a conservation passion in new markets. Kansas City, Mo., hosts Pheasant Fest for the first time Feb. 17 to 19 at the Kansas City Convention Center.
Closer to home, the River City expo in the Bluffs plans to have more than 100 exhibitors of outdoor and sporting equipment showing the latest in boats, all-terrain vehicles, RVs and campers. Three will be three full days of seminars, trout fishing and interactive games for kids.
Among other area outdoors-related sport shows and expos:
• Nebraska Safari Club 2012 Convention, Expo & Benefit Auctions, Jan. 27 and 28, Embassy Suites Hotel & Conference Center, La Vista.
• Nebraska Big Buck Classic, Jan. 27 to 29, CenturyLink Center, Omaha.
• Nebraska Boat, Sport and Travel Show, Feb. 3 to 5, Lancaster Event Center, Lincoln.
• Nebraska Pheasants and Quail Forever State Habitat Meeting, Feb. 4, Ramada Inn in Kearney, Neb.
• Omaha Boat, Sports and Travel Show, Feb. 23 to 26, CenturyLink Center.
Duck zone meetings scheduled
Omaha-area duck hunters have a chance to check out and comment on potential changes in Nebraska's duck zones at a 7 p.m. Tuesday meeting at Scheels, 17202 Davenport St.
The key change would see hunting zones extend west across the state into the current High Plains Zone, creating four zones, said Mark Vrtiska, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission's waterfowl program manager.
The changes would mean ending a split season in eastern Nebraska's Low Plains zones.
The Omaha meeting is one of a series of public informational waterfowl zone meetings scheduled across the state. Other sites:
• Monday: Columbus, Izaak Walton League Lodge, 3521 195th St. South, 7 p.m.
• Wednesday: Lincoln, Hunter Education Office conference room, 4817 N. 56th St., 6 p.m.
• Thursday: Ponca, Ponca State Park, 88090 Spur 26E, 7 p.m.
• Jan. 16: Valentine, Niobrara Lodge, 803 E. U.S. Highway 20, 6 p.m.
• Jan. 17: Kearney, Yanney Park, ERC Building, 2005 1st Ave., 6 p.m.
• Jan. 23: McCook, Red Willow Fairgrounds, Community Building, W. 5th and O St., 7 p.m.
• Jan. 24: Gering Civic Center, Chimney Rock meeting room, 1050 M St., 7 p.m.
• Jan. 25: Ogallala, Lake McConaughy Visitor Center, 1475 Nebraska Highway 61N, 6 p.m.
• Jan. 30: North Platte, Holiday Inn Express, 300 Holiday Frontage Road, 7 p.m.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1127, david.hendee@owh.com
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