Northern Michigan Outdoor Expo

April 1, 2016

Already digging out your camping gear and cleaning your tackle box? If so, you’ll love the second annual Northern Michigan Outdoor Expo, an event to help you make that yearly transition from winter to spring with a host of vehicles, products and activities all aimed at making the most of the great outdoors. Organized by Jim Driver and Bill Michaels, the expo features a wide range of exhibitors heading to Gaylord this month.

HIT THE ROAD, JACK

The splashiest exhibits at the event will, of course, be the biggest ones. You’ll be able to check out your dream RV or boat, giving you far better insight into the features you might want than you can get just looking in a catalog or online.

“We’ll have plenty of RVs, plus a nice selection of boats and outfitters,” Driver said.

“Both RV dealers — Freeway RV and Northern Michigan RV — did very well last year and we are looking forward to having the TV show Big Boys Adventures and Johnson’s Propane return as our major sponsors.”

PLENTY TO SEE

Zaremba Equipment will also be on site with big sales on both winter and summer equipment (truck, trailer and farm gear.)

Other exhibitors at the 2016 event will include Cameron Lake Fishing Lodge (from Ontario), Presque Isle’s own Daily Limit Outfitters, Aspen Quality Trailers, Reel Deals, Fat Guppy Fishing (from Green Bay, Wis.), and Poplar Ridge Lodge (located in a remote part of northern Ontario), as well as The Gaylord Tourism Bureau and the Department of Natural Resources.

FISHING FUN

Michigan Gone Wild, the TV show about fishing and outdoor sports in northern Michigan, is another of the show’s sponsors and will be on site as well. And if you get an itch to fish right then and there, there will be a trout pond right at the Expo so you can try your luck. Other activities include booking trips to Canada or the U.P. for outdoor adventures, especially fishing trips. And while you’re deciding what to buy, you can enjoy the Expo’s full concession stand plus the Sanders Meats booth, offering jerky and grilled foods.

“We are really looking forward to our second year,” Driver said.

The will take place Apr. 15–17 at the Otsego County Sportsplex, 1250 Gornick Ave. in Gaylord. Admission is $5 for adults/$4 for kids. Expo hours and more information can be found by visiting northernmichiganoutdoorexpo.com.