Last week at the Dallas Lighting Show, I struck up a conversation with a group of men decked out in camo guide shirts, cowboy boots and Stetsons at our hotel. They said they were in Dallas to attend “the show”.
“The Lighting Show,” I asked?
“Oh no,” they said. “We came from Kentucky and Indiana for the Dallas Safari Club Convention, one of the largest outdoor shows on the planet.”
And indeed it is.
We have some nice outdoor shows in Virginia, but nothing like this.
Held at the 800,000 square foot Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, The Dallas Safari Club presents upwards of a thousand exhibitors – manufacturers, hunting guides and lodges, stores, guns, and most every type of business associated with outdoor sports. Guides from literally all over the world come to Dallas to entice bookings, and they fill up quickly.
My buddies at the hotel said the show is too massive to take in in just one day. They each had three-day passes and said they still wouldn’t be able to see everything.
The Dallas Safari Club is one of the largest conservation organizations in America. Money raised at the show is used for education, conservation and to promote hunting and fishing. In 2019, the show netted $3,000,000 as some 36,000 people turned out for the exhibits, auctions and seminars.
If you really enjoy outdoor shows, think about attending next year when the show will run January 7-10. Tickets are $25 for 1-day, $35 for 2-days and $45 for 3 days. If you go, book a hotel early, as many fill up quickly
This, fellow outdoorsman, is like a giant toy store for hunters and fishermen with all the bells and whistles. Contact biggame.org for more information.