Show season is back! Come visit us in Brewer this weekend

It was nearly 20 degrees below zero in Bangor this morning, and my lawn is covered with thigh-deep snow. Tonight, meteorologists tell us, we’ll add a few more inches to our frigid winter blanket.

And on Thursday, I’m going to sleep in a snowbank.

Two-and four-legged participants at the Penobscot Fly Fishers' 2009 Cabin Fever Reliever watch Peter Wade (eft) as he talks about hunting dog training at the Brewer Auditorium on Saturday. Hundres of people visited the programs and more than 40 exhibitors over the weekend.  (BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY GABOR DEGRE) CAPTION Two and four-legged participants of the Penobscot Fly Fishers' 2009 Cabin Fever Reliever watch Peter Wade (left) as he talks about hunting dog training at the Brewer Auditorium. This year's Cabin Fever Reliever will be held this weekend. (BDN file photo)

Two-and four-legged participants at the Penobscot Fly Fishers’ 2009 Cabin Fever Reliever watch Peter Wade (eft) as he talks about hunting dog training at the Brewer Auditorium on Saturday. Hundres of people visited the programs and more than 40 exhibitors over the weekend. (BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY GABOR DEGRE)
CAPTION
Two and four-legged participants of the Penobscot Fly Fishers’ 2009 Cabin Fever Reliever watch Peter Wade (left) as he talks about hunting dog training at the Brewer Auditorium. This year’s Cabin Fever Reliever will be held this weekend. (BDN file photo)

Ignore the fact that I might have said, on more than one occasion, that I’m a tough Mainer, and embrace all of our state’s seasons. Add me to the long list of Mainers who’s had just about enough of the winter that won’t end.

Luckily, we’ve got the Penobscot Fly Fishers to help us through what may turn out to be the coldest month in our state’s history: The club’s annual Cabin Fever Reliever is on tap this weekend … just in the nick of time.

The Cabin Fever Reliever is a small outdoors expo, with an emphasis on education. If you want to learn how to tie a fly, you’ll have that chance. If you’re interested in archery, you’ll find experts who can teach you a ton. And if you want to find the perfect campfire cookware, there’s an exhibitor who can help you out.

In all, about 40 groups and individuals will set up booths at the show, which will be held at the Brewer Auditorium from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Sunday.

As always, admission is free.

The BDN will again have a booth at the show, and we’d love to have you stop by and visit. In keeping with the “cabin fever” theme, we’ll have copies of the spring issue of our glossy magazine, BDN Outdoors, that we’ll be handing out. In addition, the folks in charge of Bangor Metro, which the BDN bought a few months back, will be on hand to talk about their publication.

We’ll also be accepting entries in our 13th annual “Win a Drift Boat Trip” contest.  The lucky winner will join me and guide Dan Legere of the Maine Guide Fly Shop as we fish the East Outlet of the Kennebec River on June 14.

A full slate of speakers have been lined up, and the BDN’s own Aislinn Sarnacki is one of those who’ll entertain and educate show-goers. Aislinn’s presentation at 3 p.m. on Saturday will introduce folks to some of the state’s less well-known hiking areas. She’ll also debut her latest blooper reel, culled from hours of footage she filmed while producing her popular “1-minute Hike” series.

The Cabin Fever Reliever kicks off the show season, and the area’s largest outdoors expo — the 77th annual Eastern Maine Sportsmen’s Show — is scheduled for the following weekend.

That show’s hours: Friday, March 6, 5 p.m.-9 p.m., Saturday, March 7, 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Sunday, March 8, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

The BDN will also have a booth at that show, which will be held at the University of Maine in Orono.

 

 

John Holyoke

About John Holyoke

John Holyoke has been enjoying himself in Maine's great outdoors since he was a kid. Today, he's the Outdoors editor for the BDN, a job that allows him to meet up with Maine outdoors enthusiasts in their natural habitat. The stories he gathers provide fodder for his columns, and this blog.