Pictured above is Ken Lawrence of Elk River Antler Carvings in Grande Prairie, with one of his creations.

Mac Olsen
Spotlight

The High Prairie Gun and Sportsman Show is over for another year, and chairperson Darrell Basarab deems the event very successful.

“The attendance was about the same as last year, it came in waves,” says Basarab. “We had quite a few new exhibitors who were excited to be here.”

Approximately 5,000 people went through the doors at the 15th annual show. It was held in the Sports Palace, Gordon Buchanan Recreation Centre and the curling rink duirng the weekend of April 16-17.

One-hundred and thirty dealers came from acros Western Canada, including B.C. and Saskatchewan. The Sports Palace featured recreational items, the GBRC had the firearms and sporting goods dealers and the curling rink had the home-based business and crafters show.

Senior project archeologist Kurtis Blaikie-Birkigt and his crew from TreeTime Services were in the lobby of the Sports Palace to examine artifacts brought in by the public.

They had artifacts and archeology information on display too.

A dinner and dance was held at the Elks Pro Rodeo Grounds north of High Prairie in the evening of April 16. The Royal Canadian Air Cadets Squadron No. 539 of High Prairie performed a drill before dinner.

A local band, Backwater Breakdown, was the featured entertainment. Check the Smoky River Express’ Facebook Page for video clips of their performances.

There were draws for several raffles, including a three-gun raffle.

Cathy Semeniuk of Eaglesham won the First prize, a Beretta A391 XTREMA Camo 12-gauge shotgun.

Jim Trevors won the second prize, a Remington 700 SPS Wood Tech 7mm Magnum with a Zeiss 4-12 power scope. Third prize, a Henry Golden Boy .22 LR lever action rifle, went to Carl Willier.

There was also a raffle for two bows and a range finder. Kyle Harnish won the adult bow, Rob Buchan won the child’s bow and Shawn Oliver won the range finder.

There was also a draw for a small, fully-functional cannon. Mark Marcinkow of Hilliard’s Bay Estates won the cannon.

Pictured above, left-right, are Mark Marcinkow of Hilliard’s Bay Estates, winner of the cannon, and Darrell Basarab, chairperson of the High Prairie Gun and Sportsman Show.

Pictured above are Bob Rohloff of the High Prairie Fish and Game Association, and Cathy Semeniuk of Eaglesham, winner of the Beretta A391 XTREMA Camo 12-gauge shotgun in the three-gun raffle.

Sadie Cox, 2, gets her face painted by Laura Rutherford at the home-based business and crafters show in the curling rink.

Pictured above is Derrik Bakewell of Peace Rocks Custom Stone Carving in Peace River.

Above, left-right are Lorne L’Hirondelle, a wildfire ranger, and Roland Derry, a wildfire technologist for Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, promoting fire awareness and fire protection.

Kaylan Jackson, watershed coordinator, and Robert Nygaard, board member for the Lesser Slave Watershed Council. The curling rink was filled with merchants of all kinds for the home-based business and crafters show. There were also merchants out in the hall, between the Sports Palace and the Gordon Buchanan Recreation Centre.

Above, Gaerwen Herben, owner of Raw Essentials Handmade Soap in High Prairie.

Pictured above is Backwater Breakdown, a local band that performed for the dinner and dance in the Elks Pro Rodeo, north of High Prairie, in the evening of April 16. In no particular order are Cory Fowlie on lead guitar, Rob Pardel for the lead/rhythm guitar, Trevor Kucheruk for rhythm/vocal, Steve Denty on drums and Vince Cunningham on bass guitar. Check the Smoky River Express’ Facebook page for a couple of video clips of their performance.

The Royal Canadian Air Cadets Squadron No. 539 performed a drill prior to the dinner and dance at the Elks Pro Rodeo Grounds, north of High Prairie, on April 16. In front, facing away, is Flight Sergeant Ashton Halldorson. In the first row, from left, are Flight Sergeant Chad Halldorson, Air Cadet Lindsay Tremblay, Air Cadet Addisen Lambert-Welch and Leading Air Cadet Mya Fulton-Willier (not shown). In the second row, from left, are Corporal Jared Gomes, Flight Corportal Robert BigCharles, Sergeant Tanisha BigCharles (not shown) and Leading Air Cadet Kasia Cardinal. In the third row is Flight Sergeant Kathleen Gilmor. Look for a video clip of the Air Cadets’ drill on the Smoky River Express’ Facebook page.

Dale Robertson, owner of Du North Designs by Dale in Guy, with her products in the home-based business and crafters show, in the curling rink.

Jacinthe Gervais with her collection of bird houses for sale in the home-based business and crafters show in the curling rink. Gervais makes the bird houses and other items in her garage in Donnelly.

Pictured above are Mules Brown and Crystal Ionson, of the Mad Hatters Crotcheting Adventures in Slave Lake. They were part of the home-based business and crafters show in the curling rink. Other merchants there included children’s book and educational materials dealers;and cosmetics and jewelry sellers.

Previously published photos at:

High Prairie Gun and Sportmans Show