Showspan News
Family Fun, Conservation Highlight Expanded 47th Annual Outdoorama February 27-March 1 in Novi
Outdoorama 2020 runs February 27 through March 1 in Novi at Suburban Collection Showplace. Photo Credit: ShowspanNOVI, MI — The show that celebrates Michigan’s conservation heritage returns to Metro-Detroit February 27 through March 1 when the 47th annual Outdoorama sets up camp at Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi.
Conservation and family fun remain the foundation of Outdoorama, but the show also features hundreds of boats, marine accessories, hunting and fishing gear, informative and entertaining seminars, and guides and outfitters from across the country and beyond. Whether it’s watching the thrilling head-to-head Timberworks Lumberjack competitions, seeing some of the largest bucks taken in 2019 at Big Buck Night-East (Thursday only), enjoying an up-close encounters with Live Birds of Prey or attending one of the non-stop Educational Seminars there is something for everyone at Outdoorama.
Patrons will find some of the best deals of the year at Outdoorama, too. With over five acres of boats, hunting and fishing gear, and outfitters and guides from across North America and beyond, deals abound for everyone.
A diverse lineup of entertaining seminars provide hours of education for anglers, hunters, wildlife watchers and their families.
“Since 1973, Outdoorama has been providing southeast Michigan residents with an opportunity to enjoy family fun, conservation and outdoors education all under one roof,” says Show Manager Ben Nielsen. “Families often visit Outdoorama together and enjoy a wide variety of hunting gear, fishing gear, boats, motors, and accessories, hands on activities and a full slate of continuous seminars on everything from hunting and fishing to picking morel mushrooms and managing your land for wildlife. We’re excited about this year’s show and can’t wait for the doors to open at 1 p.m. on February 27.”
Features & Attractions
Returning to Outdoorama this year by popular demand is the Timberworks Lumberjack Show. These lumberjack world championship competitors use the same skills used in logging camps in the 1900s to thrill the crowds with entertaining dialog and head-to-head competition in skills including log rolling, pole climbing, ax throwing, crosscut sawing and more. The Timberworks Lumberjacks have nation-wide appeal and have appeared on television shows including Wide World of Sports and Fox and Friends. They are sure to be a hit with the crowds at Outdoorama.
Big Buck Night returns to Outdoorama Thursday, February 27 at 7PM featuring celebrity hosts Jimmy Gretzinger and Jenny Olson (seating starts at 6:30 PM). Photo Credit: Showspan
Outdoors TV stars Jimmy Gretzinger and Jenny Olsen also return to Outdoorama to tape this year’s version of Big Buck Night-East, an annual family staple on Michigan Out-of-Doors TV. The show will be filmed on Thursday evening beginning at 7 p.m. It’s free with admission and doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Also returning by popular demand is a Locked Antler Display, featuring over 20 sets of locked antlers from white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk and moose.
Commemorative Bucks of Michigan measurers will be on hand all four days of the show providing free scoring of trophy deer, bear, elk and turkey. Patrons who have their trophies scored are encouraged to display them on the Outdoorama Buck.
The Michigan B.A.S.S. Nation will again provide one of the best indoor Trout Ponds in the state. For a nominal fee kids can try their luck at catching a live rainbow trout. In addition there is a Pellet Shooting Range and a Crossbow Shooting Range with certified instructors offering free lessons on shooting. There also is an Archery Range for kids, staffed by members of the Michigan Bowhunters Association, and a Rock Climbing Wall.
Do battle with a Great Lakes king salmon or dorado at Outdoorama on the Michigan Charter Boat Association’s Virtual Fishing Simulator, or learn to tie flies at the Michigan Fly Fishing Club’s Fly Tyer’s Corner.
Live wild animals and birds of prey will be on display by the Howell Nature Center and the Michigan Hawking Club.
Planning an out-of-state trip? Outfitters Expo provides show patrons with nearly unlimited family vacation and adventure travel, including hunting and fishing destinations throughout North America and beyond. You can book a fishing trip to Canada, an elk hunt in Idaho, a family houseboat adventure in Kentucky, or a safari in Africa.
Antique & Classic Fishing Tackle will be on display at Outdoorama, some of which has its roots right here in southeastern Michigan. Got some antique lures lying around? Bring them in and have Antique Tackle Expert Terry McBurney appraise them for you. There also will be several Vintage Boats and Vintage Motors on display at the show.
With a 100,000 square-foot expansion completed at Suburban Collection Showplace, this year’s Outdoorama will feature more hunting and fishing gear, boats, marine accessories and more! Photo Credit: Showspan
An added bonus for Outdoorama patrons is free crossover admission to the 14th annual Cottage & Lakefront Living Show, held concurrently at Suburban Collection Showplace.
Seminars
More than 75 seminars are scheduled over the four days and cover topics ranging from fishing and hunting to mushroom hunting, training your bird dog or grooming your land for wildlife or hunting. All seminars are free with admission and many in-booth demonstrations attract crowds throughout the show.
Headlining the All-Star Seminar Lineup are deer hunting experts John Eberhart (Bowhunting Heavily Pressured Whitetails), Tim Andrus (Getting Ready for Deer Season Now), Tony LaPratt (What You Need to Know for Killing Mature Bucks), and Tom Richardson (The Art of Calling Deer). They’ll be joined by turkey hunting expert and calling champion Seth McCullough (Turkey Hunting and the Life Cycle of the Wild Turkey), Joel Piatek (Duck Hunting the Swamps of Lake St. Clair), and expert dog handler Len Jenkins (Training Your Dog to Hunt).
Mushroom expert Theresa Maybrier, America’s foremost authority on morels, will teach Outdoorama patrons how to identify morels, where to find them, how to prepare them and how to preserve them in her “Morel Hunting” seminars.
On the fishing side of the seminars are professional walleye experts Mark Romanack (Trolling for Walleyes), Mark Martin (How to Catch Walleyes Wherever You Go), and Lance Valentine (Detroit River Walleye Basics). Some of the other fishing seminar leaders are Jake Romanack (Modern Salmon Tactics), Wayne Carpenter (No Secrets on Lake St. Clair), and Kevin Backus (Muskie Trolling Tactics Proven by Homer LeBlanc),
John Borkovich, a retired conservation officer and book author, also will be presenting seminars at Outdoorama.
Kids and adults enjoy collecting the commemorative Dardevle spoons that Eppinger Manufacturing Co. in Dearborn hands out each year on Thursday and Friday to the first 500 show patrons. On Saturday and Sunday the first 250 patrons will receive a K&E Bass Stopper lure from Stopper Lures in Hastings.
The show that celebrates Michigan’s great outdoors is Feb. 27 through March 1. Admission is $12 adult, $5 for children ages 6 to 14, and children 5 and under will be admitted free. Show hours are Thursday, 1 to 9; Friday, 11 to 9; Saturday, 10 to 8; and Sunday, 10 to 5.
Show Information
Show Hours:
- Thursday, 1 PM to 9 PM
- Friday, 11 AM to 9 PM
- Saturday, 10 AM to 8 PM
- Sunday, 10 AM to 5 PM
Admission:
- Adults: $12
- Children 6 to 14: $5
- Children 5 and under: Free
Parking
On-site parking is $5.
For More Info
For more information, visit www.Outdoorama.com or call 616-447-2860. Discount weekday tickets are available online. You can also follow late-breaking news and developments on Facebook at ULTIMATESPORTSHOWTOUR or Twitter: www.twitter.com/Outdoorama. Make sure you stop by the GreatLakesBass.com / GreatLakesIceFishing.com booth 5761 during the show! (2nd aisle from west end of building)
