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SALT LAKE CITY — If you love the great outdoors, this is your week. The International Sportsmen's Expo has adventure-travel, hunting, fishing, camping products, just about everything.
One of the coolest things is the youth fair, where the outdoors industry tries to get children interested in outdoor activities.
4-year-old Gabriel Rolfe has been fishing before, but he wanted to go fishing for the big fish after trying the indoor catch and release tank inside the South Town Expo Center.
“Usually when we go, he ends up chasing all the little minnows on the shore rather than really getting up there and fishing,” said Gabriel’s father, Toby Rolfe. "My dad took me when I was a little kid and I remember our trips up to Provo and I want him to experience that because that stayed with me my whole life."
That's the idea in this part of the International Sportsmen's Expo, to get kids into something they may have never thought about before or never tried before.
Hailey Peatross is 19-years-old and has been volunteering with the Great Basin Wildlife Rescue for the past couple of years. She loves wildlife and the outdoors, and she wants to share those experiences with children in general.
“I just really want to be an example to them to be able to encourage them to go outside and to go get involved,” Peatross said. “Even if it’s not wildlife, to just get involved in something.”
Ken Lebbon of the Great Basin Wildlife Rescue wants to teach kids about the outdoors, like letting children touch an actual bobcat pelt or seeing an owl.
“We feel like if we can show young people how beautiful wildlife is, they’ll have more respect for it.”
The Sportsmen's Expo is running now through Sunday at the South Towne Expo Center. Tickets are $12 for adults, free for children under 16 and active military. Tickets may be purchased at the door or on International Sportsmen's Expo website.
Additional reporting: Adam Eakle
