Outdoor Retailer Summer Market '06 Preview: Sold out show, pull up a chair with SNEWS®, a tea tiki bar and Hummer at OR

Do you have a trade show event you think is worth noting?
If you have a trade show event that’s scheduled, confirmed and more than just an introduction of a new product (as in, entertaining and educational), fire an email to the SNEWS® team at orevents@snewsnet.com. We need them before July 31 when we post our second and final Outdoor Retailer Summer Market preview story.

Show is sold out
Stretch your legs and find your most comfortable pair of shoes because Outdoor Retailer Summer Market is huge, behemouth, gianormous! For the record, rumors that Outdoor Retailer has sold booth space to wait-listed vendors willing to display wares in the bathroom stalls is unfounded.

This year, the Summer Market opens the new hall in the convention center, and that means 950 exhibiting companies will be hawking goods across a record 400,000 square feet of floor space. There are over 200 new exhibitors, and just as many booth expansions, and as a result Outdoor Retailer has just announced Summer Market is completely sold out for its 25th Birthday.

The SNEWS® team is continually weeding through all the press release fluffery and mounds of show announcements to bring you only the events we believe are really worth the time. To that end, mark your calendars for the following:

Open Air Demo at Willard Bay State Park, Aug. 8-9
Last year was the best Open Air Demo ever and this year promises to be even more fun, so you’ll want to join the SNEWS® editors in packing in the outdoor fun and supreme demo opportunities before heading indoors for trade show mania!

Sixty manufacturers will be on hand with plenty of demo gear for the hundreds of retailers expected to attend. Naturally, there will be paddling demos galore, but we’d recommend taking in the Teva Salt Run trail runs and Magellan’s GPS treasure hunt for some added frivolity.

One event, sponsored by Hummer, does have us raising our eyebrows a bit, along with a few other attendees who immediately emailed us with comments ranging from “Huh?” to “You have to be kidding me…”. Yes, Hummer is on hand with an SUV test track. Last time we heard, the outdoor industry is primarily about promoting self-propelled outdoor adventure and have to wonder what an SUV sponsor with a driving test track has to do with anything human powered. While we ordinarily support Outdoor Retailer’s many fine efforts to promote adventure diversity and we do realize that many of us do drive to and from trails and paddling put-ins in SUVs, Hummer is the poster child for gas-guzzling excess. How anyone at Outdoor Retailer—the same trade show trying so hard to promote a green message and pushing the convention center to be more responsible in energy usage and recycling—thought this was a good idea is beyond us.

Feeling parched in the heat, then head to the Mountain Hardwear Base Camp Beer Garden which should be as superb as it was last year. If yer hungry, then look no further than the Thule-sponsored BBQ. Fendler is even organizing a sleepover for those who want to camp the night away…very cool!

Getting Historical
Summer Market will be celebrating its 25th Birthday with an industry retrospective presentation. In the new section of the hall, overlooking the show floor, Outdoor Retailer will showcase an educational and historical presentation of outdoor products, memorabilia, imagery and personalities that have helped shape and define the direction of the outdoor industry. SNEWS® supported this project by allowing one of its editors, Wendy Geister, to work closely with Outdoor Retailer as a freelancer in organizing the historical review and display. Outdoor Retailer also turned to our merchandising editor, Sharon Leicham, and our art director, John Davidson, to ensure the visuals, display materials and lighting are top-notch.

Breakfast with David Breashears 
Friday, Aug. 11 at 7:30 a.m. • Marriot across from the convention center
Everyone needs breakfast, so why not make a date to have coffee, juice and comestibles courtesy of W.L. Gore while listening to David Breashears speak about Everest on the 10th anniversary of the 1996 tragedy. This promises to be an insider’s look at one of the most riveting adventure stories in the world. What have we learned in the last 10 years? How has climbing changed since then? If, at all.

OIWC’s Ramp It Up Fashion Show — Men in drag
Friday, Aug. 11, 6-8:30 p.m. • Port o’ Call
Forget Heidi, Giselle and Tyra, or that nasty one who’s always getting arrested for slapping her assistants. The Outdoor Industries Women’s Council (OIWC) has assembled a cast of characters—some of the industry’s manliest men—to dress up in fashionable outdoor drag and strut their stuff in a fashion show for a good cause. For a mere $10, you can get a ticket to the hottest show in town and help the OIWC raise money for its professional development committee. More than 60 industry guys—including SNEWS®’s Michael Hodgson and team—will model the latest women’s fashions…and flash some hairy legs. Watch the heels, boys. Seats are limited, so get your ticket now for this can’t-miss event! Check out OIWC’s website for details or click here to buy tickets.

Getting thirsty? Try a Tiki Tea Bar with Gramicci
We love the idea of Gramicci’s Tiki Tea Bar featuring limited edition Gramicci cozies. Iced, hot and exotic, the tea promises to be refreshing and the cozies will be collectible originals featuring the art of Mark Kulakoff. Donations will be collected to benefit Outdoor Outreach and the Pacific Crest Trail Association.

Need some coffee and a comfy seat on a couch for a while?
SNEWS®, in partnership with Kinetic Koffee, is providing an on-the-floor rest area for tired feet and bones with a fantastically comfortable couch, lounge chair and ottoman (courtesy of Woolrich), as well as a few tables and chairs for hanging out — Booth 32078. Sip some fabulous Kinetic Koffee brew. Check your email at our wireless connection. Hang out and shoot the breeze with friends. Thanks to Woolrich, the couch, chair, ottoman, carpet and light used in the SNEWS® lounge will be donated to Peace House, a safe haven for women and children fleeing domestic violence situations based in the Salt Lake City area.