The Arizona Game and Fish Department’s 2008 Outdoor Expo at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in Phoenix had a record 26,000 people in attendance last weekend. On Saturday, last year’s attendance of 17,000 was already outnumbered.
The department also held its first pre-Expo “Youth Day” on Friday, March 28th, & about 600 pre-registered children and 200 teachers, chaperones and parents attended the event, which focused on wildlife and conservation education.
The Expo activities were concentrated in four different locations at the Ben Avery range & included a chance to try out firearms from different manufacturers, shoot a bow and arrow, view live wildlife, test-drive off-highway vehicles, do activities on an outdoor education nature trail, learn about boating safety, attend outdoor workshops, & catch a fish at the kids’ catch-and-release fish tank. Nearly 1,300 children, accompanied by about 2,000 parents & adult chaperones, tried out the fishing tank over the weekend.