Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2003 Update

SNEWS will be running regular Outdoor Retailer Summer Market updates through early- August. We are doing this as a service to the industry to assist retailers, reps and exhibitors with trade show attendance and planning.

Trade Show Events 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.

Smell the money: To celebrate the company’s 25th Anniversary, Hi-Tec Sports USA will be giving away one prize of $2,500 in cash they tell SNEWS! Stop by booth 1201 during Day 1 or Day 2 to enter, and be present to win at 5 p.m. on Day 2! If you can’t be there, just tell someone at the show ’cause we’re sure they’ll be happy to pick up your cash for you…right.

Fresh hot waffles: To kick off the day, make sure to stop by the Dunham booth 3821. Fresh, hot waffles right off the griddle will be served honoring Dunham’s Waffle Stomper Collection. Waffles will be available daily from Thursday, Aug. 14, to Sunday, Aug. 17, from 9 to 11 a.m. The SNEWS team has stopped by for a quick bite during the last several shows and can fully confirm, there’s not a better way to start the show than with a plateful of waffles covered in strawberries.

Screening for Vertical Frontier: Black Diamond Equipment is sponsoring a special screening of Vertical Frontier, a film by Kristi Denton Cohen, as a fundraiser for HERA Climb For Life on Thursday, Aug. 14, at 7:30 p.m. at Brewvies in Salt Lake City. Vertical Frontier, an award-winning documentary about the history of climbing in Yosemite Valley, recently won Best Film on Climbing at the prestigious Banff Mountain Film Festival and was the only American climbing film accepted in the Trento Film Festival in Italy. Narrated by Tom Brokaw, Vertical Frontier is a non-profit film with fiscal sponsorship through the Film Arts Foundation. DVD and VHS copies for Vertical Frontier are available during the OR show at booth 5218 and at the Brewvie’s screening. A $10 donation is requested at the door and will enter you in a raffle sponsored by Black Diamond. Additionally, Black Diamond sponsored climber Dean Potter will be on hand at Brewvies to sign posters. For more information on Vertical Frontier, please go to www.pelotonproductions.com; to learn more about HERA Climb for Life, go to www.ovariancancer.jhmi.edu/climb/newsletter.

Barbecue and funk: The North Face is hosting a barbecue and concert featuring the funky tunes of Vinyl (www.vinylgroove.com) in Park City on Wednesday, Aug. 13, at 6 p.m. immediately following the Open Air Demo. The barbecue and concert are a celebration of the launch of TNF’s new Flight Series and the start of the 4 Winds Adventure Race, also presented by The North Face. Transportation will be provided from the Salt Palace and Demo Day to Park City. You can pick up a bus every hour on the hour starting at 5 p.m. on the south side of the Salt Palace across from the Marriott. The Demo Day bus will leave for Park City at 4 p.m. Return transportation will be provided on the hour after 6 p.m. Click here for more details.

Stinging promotion: EN-R-G Foods, Inc., manufacturers of Honey Stinger energy gels and bars, is giving away a trip for two to Steamboat this winter. To win, registered exhibitors or attendees of the 2003 Summer OR show must pick up a stinger (it’s sure to be embarrassing) at the Honey Stinger booth 5144, and be (they wanted us to say “bee”, but how corny do you think we are anyway?) spotted sporting it throughout the weekend. The entire Salt Lake Valley is fair game, from the aisles of the Salt Palace, to the stools of the Dead Goat saloon, to the granite boulders of Little Cottonwood Canyon. If you’re spotted wearing your stinger, you’ll get handed a ticket to fill out and return to the booth. The winner will be selected and contacted after the show.

Climbing film and beer: Petzl and Mammut are throwing an industry party on Aug. 15 to screen “Autoroute – Full Throttle Climbing in France and Switzerland” — the newest film from Chance Productions’ filmmaker Rob Frost, featuring some of the world’s best climbers on a variety of Europe’s hardest routes. The festivities kick off at 8:30 p.m. in the Union-Pacific building and are scheduled to run until (YIKES!) 2 a.m. Additional sponsors include Climbing Magazine, Red Bull and Salt Lake City’s local Wasatch brewery. Invitations are required (yes, you do need a stinkin’ badge sucker) and can be picked up at the Petzl, Mammut and Climbing Magazine booths.

Protecting Utah: Join the Sierra Club team at its booth, number 127, from 4 to 5 p.m. on Aug. 15 for free munchies, brew, wine and conversation with Sierra Club staff and activists, Lawson LeGate, Jim Caitlin and Marc Heilson who will offer up the inside story of what it takes to map and protect the Utah wilderness and what current situations are threatening one of America’s most unique natural treasures.

Where Did Everybody Go?

Non-Profit Booths Have Been Moved: The non-profit groups have been moved up to what is now being called, “Advocacy Alley” located on the balcony opposite the North Face and overlooking the show floor. Why? Because Outdoor Retailer needed the space outside the ballrooms to accommodate show expansion with new exhibitors. The Access Fund, Outward Bound, American Alpine Club, OIWC, the American Hiking Society, American Whitewater, Appalachian Mountain Club, American Canoe Association, American Discovery Trail, Big City Mountaineers, Continental Divide, and Leave No Trace will all be present. TAPS (Trade Association of Paddle Sports) will be in its familiar location near the paddle tank, and the Outdoor Industry Association’s booth will be located near the elevator on the main floor near registration.

Log On at North Lobby: The online lounge has a new location, in the “Gateway” the area formerly known as the North Lobby area. This year’s sponsor of the online lounge is ISPO, and the lounge will have more than nine high-speed Internet stations for attendees and show personnel to check emails. In addition to the online lounge, the “Gateway” area will house over 30 exhibitors and is the most convenient exit and entrance to the show near Abravenal Plaza — the location of the first night’s Industry Party.