The fourth annual B&T Gun Show will have dozens of exhibitors and lots of firearms and other merchandise for people to choose from.
Organizers Lionel Bender and Kevin Thompson said the event will happen on March 25 and 26 at the Wylie-Mitchell building, with doors open at 10 a.m. each day. They are hoping to see more people attend the second day in particular.
Ninety-six tables have been booked, making the show a sellout.
“I’ve talked to lots of vendors … and they’ve even told me they’ve sold more firearms in Estevan than they have in bigger cities like Regina,” said Thompson.
Vendors also like the way in which the show’s tables are laid out.
“We don’t crowd up the tables,” said Bender. “We give the people room to move in there, and that’s one of the big things. You don’t want to stall the crowd from moving around.”
Some shows are so cramped that if one person stops to view merchandise, it clogs up the aisle.
There will also be some new exhibitors this year, since some from previous years can’t make this year’s show.
“Lionel and I are trying to do a little bit of changing with different people there, so you’re not getting the same show every single year,” said Thompson.
Thompson and Bender suggest that if a patron goes to a gun show, and it’s the same people year after year, they might eventually decide not to come back.
There will be a variety of firearms on display for people to view and purchase, and there will also be a taxidermist, multiple gunsmiths, a coin dealer, and people who make leather goods, knives, pillows and more. They will also have archery-related items.
“It’s 90 per cent firearms, but it’s 10 per cent other things, too,” said Bender.
The event has grown to the point where Bender and Thompson would like to have a larger building, or add a second venue. They have another 100 people on their wait list.
Proceeds from the gun show are directed to a different organization each year. This year’s beneficiary will be the new Children’s Hospital in Saskatoon. After last year’s show, someone suggested donating to the Children’s Hospital, and Bender and Thompson thought it was a good idea.
They believe one of the reasons for the gun show’s success is they turn over the proceeds for the event to different organizations, rather than keeping the money for themselves.
