Upcoming Event

State of Maine Sportsman's Show

This state's largest, most prestigious sportsman's event, the 29th Annual State of Maine Sportsman's Show (SMSS), runs April 2, 3 and 4 at the Augusta Civic Center off I-95 Exit 112.

This year's show gives the audience an option of 106 seminars and events over three days, the most attractions ever in the show's 29-year history.

The Maine Sportsman magazine and Sportsman's Alliance of Maine host the 3-day extravaganza, which attracts show goers from across the Northeast and Maritime provinces. For nearly three decades, SMSS brings together a who's who of Maine's outdoors men and women.

"This year, we have gathered extraordinarily skilled, well-known personalities to entertain our audiences," promised Harry Vanderweide, the show's co-director.

Vanderweide went on to say the show has myriad new attractions for young and old alike, and in fact, many of the 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, nine huge draws include the following:

1) Kate Braestrup, a best-selling author, won the Discover Award, Nonfiction for Here If You Need Me (Little, Brown), a chronicle of her life as a chaplain for the Maine Warden Service where she's the first person to alert waiting people to tell them whether a loved one has survived a mishap - or not.

2) Denny Corriveau, New England's WildCheff, has spent over a quarter century as an avid hunter, private chef and motivational speaker and brings this experience with cooking wild game to seminar rooms to show his culinary skills via an entertaining presentation.

3) L.L. Bean, the Freeport retailing giant, visits SMSS with a display of outdoors equipment on the main floor of the auditorium, and in their booth or in rooms adjacent to the auditorium, Bean's experts will give demonstrations or seminars on shotgunning for deer, fly fishing, saltwater fishing, trolling tactics, turkey hunting with guns or bows and hunting big game with firearms or archery. Please check the show schedule for details.

4) Larry the eagle comes from the Maine Wildlife Park on Saturday from 10 a.m.to 4 p.m. and gives anyone an opportunity to stand by him and have a photo taken.

5) Maine's own Joe Saltalamachia, a successful trophy buck hunter, conducts one-hour, stage shows that shows audience members how to organize a plan to become better at successfully killing a 200-pound or large deer each year.

6) 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 through the course.

7) The Maine Taxidermists Association is coming with a larger display of mounts than ever, including deer, bear, moose, upland birds, waterfowl and more.

8) The Maine Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation has a serious competition with their 23rd Maine State Open (turkey calling) contest. This year, the Maine State Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, Inc. conducts the event on Saturday, April 4, at 4 p.m.

9) The Maine Bowhunter Association attends again this year and has another option for young show goers - a chance to shoot the new Genesis compound bow. Adults can shoot this bow, too.

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, show goers can choose from exotic destinations to storied Maine choices to charter boats from Lake Ontario, the latter a favorite of Pine Tree State anglers looking for inexpensive fishing packages that produce trophy fish.

Stage shows run throughout the show in the North Wing of the Civic Center and seminars in rooms outside the auditorium also go on throughout the weekend.

Major sporting-good dealers in Maine will be there. These folks will be on hand to show the newest in rods, reels, firearms and camping gear. 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 Maine Spaniel Field Trial Club conducts indoors seminars, using spaniels such as springers and English cockers. 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.

Fishing and Hunting Shows 

Please contact us for more information.