Kinzua Outdoor & Travel Show Brings Outdoors Inside

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. February 24, 2010

BRADFORD, PA, February 23, 2010 - There's no better way to spend a potentially blustery February afternoon thinking about the outdoors than to spend it inside.

The Kinzua Outdoor & Travel Show, sponsored by the Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce, has a multitude of activities, vendors and speakers throughout the two-day event located at the Bradford Mall on East Main Street.

The show will run 4 to 9 p.m. Feb. 26 and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Feb. 27.

There are several things on tap to take place throughout the weekend. There will be an ORVIS casting pond, games of chance, a bragging wall where prize trophies will be displayed, vendor raffle drawings, an inflatable slider obstacle course and appearances by Eddie the Eagle, Smokey the Bear and the Pitt Panther.

The speakers on Friday include Rick Esch from the Tuna Valley Trail Association whose talk will be “Walk with Us.” Kirk Johnson with Friends of the Allegheny Wilderness will talk of “Preserving Wilderness Areas in the Allegheny National Forest.”

New to the children's programs will be a presentation entitled “Down the Drain” where Sandy Thompson of the McKean County Conservation District will be talking to kids at 5 p.m. Feb. 26 about how to keep the watersheds pure. Each participant will receive a white pine seedling to plant.

And Andrew Hwang of LPX Gaming will talk about outdoor-themed video games. There will be multiple video gaming stations with Nintendo Wii and X-Box 360 so that children can do some virtual fishing, hunting and other sports.

Speakers for Feb. 27 include Randy Opferbeck and Dick Duffy speaking on the topic “Spring Turkey Hunting, Calling, and Safety,” and Susan Godfrey speaking on the topic “Winter Woods Walking/Snowshoeing.”

Music will be provided by “The Banjo Man” who will perform at 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 1:45 p.m. Feb. 27.

Also new will be an ice sculpting demonstration presented by the Seneca Allegany Casino and Hotel from nearby Allegany, N.Y. White-tailed deer head mounds, antlers with skull plate in tact or black deer can be submitted to Pope & Young from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 27 for free scoring.

Visitors can participate in the Bragging Wall, a freestanding structure upon which hunting and fishing enthusiasts display their trophy mounts.

Winners from this will be chosen by visitors who can cast their vote via money cans. The proceeds of which will serve to benefit the “Hunt of a Lifetime” charity which provides critically ill children a chance to go on a hunt.

Prizes will be awarded in five categories including big game, white tail, furbearer, foul and fish, and each entrant will also receive one free ticket to the event.

Zippo Manufacturing Co. will showcase the 2010 unveiling of the Freedom Bike, where a motorcycle is raffled off as a fundraiser for the Kids and Cancer organization with proceeds donated to regional hospitals. Tickets will continue to be sold beyond the KOTS event until July when Zippo holds a dice run and draws the winning ticket.

Zippo will also unveil its new outdoor line.

There will be about 90 vendors, including sporting goods retailers, fishing charters, recreational vehicle dealers, travel and tourism destinations, and more, featuring such products as all-terrain vehicles, camping gear, fishing accessories and hunting equipment.

For those who want to attend both days, overnight accommodations may be made at either the Best Western-Bradford Inn at 800-344-4656 or the Comfort Inn at 814-368-6772. If a bed and breakfast is more your style, try The Mountain Laurel Inn at 814-362-8006.

Nearby eating establishments are also available at a variety of locations, including Beefeaters Restaurant at 27 Congress St. or The Option House at 41 Main St.

For more information on the Kinzua Outdoor & Travel Show or the region, contact the Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau at 800-473-9370 or visit the Web site at visitANF.com.