Thousands Attend Boat & Fishing Show

The 2nd Annual Southern Illinois Boat and Fishing Show was a success this past Super Bowl weekend. Based on our road counters we're estimating attendance at 8,925 which is up from the 7,200 last year.

We had a different mix of boat dealers and vendors this year with demand for space exceeding what we had available. The seminars were well attended and the kids flocked to hear Camo the Clown.

For the first time we had three wineries attending the event - Bella Terra Winery from the Tunnel Hill area, Pheasant Hollow Winery from Rend Lake and Shawnee Winery from Vienna.

The Youth Outdoor Education Foundation and the Williamson County Events Commission produced the event with the help of our show runner Ron Allen who did a great job as always.

We would also like to thank our sponsors Marion Toyota and Budweiser.

The 2009 Southern Illinois Boat and Fishing Show will be held again Friday through Sunday, January 30 to February 1.

Next up for outdoor enthusiasts is the Egyptian Collector's Association's spring Hunting and Trade Show at the Pavilion on March 13-15.

A month later is the brand new Southern Illinois Outdoors Expo scheduled for the second weekend of April on Friday-Sunday, April 11-13. The Williamson County Events Commission is producing the Outdoors Expo. For more information on the Outdoors Expo contact the Williamson County Tourism Bureau at 618-997-3690.

UPDATE: We've decided to hold off on starting a new outdoors show this year, but we're looking at it for 2009.