Toronto Sportsmen's Show - March 16 and 20, 2011
The 64th Toronto Sportsmen’s Show brought in thousands of people, including Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, who was there for its opening on Wednesday, as well as over 450 exhibitors displaying their wares.
This was our first year to be invited to this event, sharing a demonstration booth with Andre Reed and Fritz Steele of Black Powder Rendevous (also infamously known as members of H.M.S. Charwell, Royal Navy Great Lakes Squadron). All-in-all, it was a great experience (though tiring) and a very worthwhile event for our group. We can now understand why Andre and Fritz have done this for so many years, and we owe them a debt of gratitude for inviting us along for the ride. Several group members picked days in which they could help out - some being there for long days, and 2 days (or more) straight. Kudos especially go to Hunter and Sable for selflessly giving so much of their time to this event!
Of the five days, Saturday was the busiest day, as expected. A lot of business cards for the group were handed out to interested parties over the five days, and the native recipe books were all gone but one by the end of the event. Many people expressed their interest in what we were doing, talking about the intertwined native and fur trade history, as well as an appreciation that there were people willing to keep that history alive, which is truly gratifying. Especially enjoyable were the comments from the Eastern European and Russian immigrants who had a genuine appreciation for the furs that were on display, and the many Metis people who came by to chat. It's great to have an opportunity to discuss Canada's early history with them. Now if we only had a nickle for everyone who asked how much the furs cost.
There's lots of cool stuff to see of course, but not much time to see it. Andre and Fritz have already invited us to come back next year, at which time we will also have double the space to set up our displays. Bonus: some of us came home with some spicy venison or bison summer sausage!
Hunter and Sable put in many hours
