| Days | Hours | Minutes | Seconds |
| 2011 Show Dates & Times | |
|---|---|
| Friday, April 1 | 1:00 pm - 7:00 pm |
| Saturday, April 2 | 9:00 am - 9:00 pm |
| Sunday, April 3 | 9:00 am - 5:00 pm |
Augusta Civic Center
76 Community Drive
Augusta, Maine 04330
| Ticket Prices | |
|---|---|
| Adults (13 +) | $7.00 |
| Kids (5 - 12) | $4.00 |
| Kids (4 and under) | Free |
This state's largest, most prestigious sportsman's event, the 30th Annual State of Maine Sportsman's Show (SMSS), runs April 2, 3 and 4 at the Augusta Civic Center off I-95 Exit 112.
The 30th Annual State of Maine Sportsman’s Show (SMSS), the largest sportsman’s event in the state, will run April 2, 3 and 4 at the Augusta Civic Center off Interstate 95’s Exit 112.
“This year, our audiences will have entertaining choices, ranging from extraordinarily skilled, well-known personalities to excellent exhibits,” promised Harry Vanderweide, the show’s co-director.
This year’s 3-day show gives the audience an option of over 100 seminars and stage events, 130 booths in the auditorium and myriad exhibits in rooms around the main floor, the most attractions ever in the last 30 years.
The Maine Sportsman magazine and the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine host the weekend extravaganza, attracting show goers from across the Northeast, Maritime provinces and beyond. Through the years, folks from Central America to British Columbia have come to Augusta to participate or see the show. For three decades, SMSS has also brought together a who’s who of Maine’s outdoors men and women, and that trend continues in 2010.
Vanderweide added that the show has multiple new attractions for young and old alike. Many offerings can entertain three generations of sports folks from the granddad to father to son all at once. Many of the old favorites return, too – the best of both worlds.
This year, 12 huge draws for show goers include the following:
1) L.L.Bean of Freeport, the retailing giant with an international reputation, brings a display of outdoors equipment to the main floor of the auditorium and also has firearms experts on hand at the main booth to buy used long guns on-site. In addition to these two offerings, Bean’s knowledgeable staff will give demonstrations or seminars on how to become a better wing-shot with a shotgun, how to speak fish (or more precisely, how to read water and decipher what fish want). An outdoors option will please fly rodders because they can cast the all-new L.L.Bean Silver Ghost fly rods. Please check the show schedule for details.
2) Maine’s Joe Saltalamachia, a successful trophy buck hunter, conducts stage shows that illustrate for the audience how to organize a plan to become more successful at killing a 200-pound or larger deer.
3) Gary Crocker comes to the show for the first time, an authentic Maine humorist from West Gardiner. As chief un-registered Maine guide, Gary will comment on observations about Maine and her people and give show goers a little history on his life – such as how he spent the best six years of it in the fifth grade.
4) ATV Maine sets up a course in the parking lot by the Civic Center, and after basic instruction on safety, the instructors allow children 8 to 16 years old to drive an ATV – always a crowd pleaser.
5) Roger and Russ Lambert will do a seminar on calling bulls to an archer or firearms hunter on stand for folks dreaming of a western elk hunt,
6) “Save Our Deer Day” is a multi-event program lined up by the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine. It's guaranteed to become a crowd favorite! Audience members will have a chance to talk to wildlife biologists and other experts on the panel while learning how to hunt coyotes, feed deer, plant food plots and listen to plans for restoring Northern Maine’s deer herd.
7) David Smus, wildlife bronze sculptor, has been named Artist of the Year 2010 by SMSS. David will display his works at the show. Smus grew up around the woods and waters of Maine and turned his life-long love affair with art and his knowledge of animal anatomy into an artistic format guaranteed to wow audience members.
8) The Maine Taxidermists Association is coming with a larger display of mounts than ever, including deer, bear, moose, upland birds, waterfowl and more. This display brings in huge crowds.
9) The Maine Spaniel Field Trial Club will be doing demonstrations at the SMSS, and this year, Sheryl Mayo brings her champion black cocker, Lucy, to the Civic Center for all three days, a dog that won the 2009 National Cocker Championship. Barbara Haupt will also have her dog, Sunny, which was one of the nine cockers to finish that trial.
10) The Maine Bowhunters Association comes with a Genesis compound bow, which young and adult archers can shoot.
11) The Kennebec Valley Chapter of the Maine Council of Trout Unlimited has become a valuable fixture of the SMSS, and this year, it continues with free fly-tying lessons, fly-fishing seminars, mostly on where-to Maine spots as well as on a Pulaski, New York destination.
12) Harold Porter once again brings his antique collection of outdoor gear, including vintage outdoors tip-ups, early outdoor cooking kits, camp stove, cooler and 1930’s camp table.
As always, the Maine sporting-camps industry has a strong presence in the auditorium, offering trips for everyone, especially budget-minded folks. Among the 25 outfitters and sporting camps, folks can choose from exotic destinations to storied Maine choices to charter boats from Lake Ontario.
Stage shows in the North Wing of the Civic Center and seminars in rooms outside the auditorium run throughout the weekend.
Major sporting-good dealers in Maine will be there with new rods, reels, firearms, camping gear and more. Sporting camps, deep-sea fishing boats, rafting outfits, DeLorme Mapping and many other outdoor-related businesses are also on hand. Other attractions are two major boat dealers – Hamlin Marine in Waterville and Mid-Maine Marine & RV in Oakland.
The Maine Wildlife and Sporting Art Contest will have more high-quality entries than ever before, while the Maine Wildlife Woodcarving Contest continues to attract talented carvers.
The North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA) conducts an onstage dog-handling show that draws a crowd every year. NAVHDA’s training methods create exceptionally obedient dogs.
Times for the show are 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission at the door is $7 for adults; children 5 to 12 years old are $4 every day; children 4 years old and under are admitted free.