Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show | |
---|---|
Status | Defunct |
Genre | Outdoor, Sportsman, Hunting |
Frequency | Annual |
Venue | Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center |
Location(s) | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |
Years active | 1956-2013 |
The Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show was an outdoor hunting and fishing exposition held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania which ran annually from 1956 to 2013. It primarily showcased hunting and fishing products, sporting equipment, and services, along with expert advice, seminars, and competition shooting.[ citation needed ] Often described as the largest show of its kind in North America, it included more than 1,000 hunting and fishing related vendors and over 500 outfitters from around the world. [1]
The event was originally a six-day event called the "Pennsylvania Recreation and Sportsmen's Show" and was first held in March 1956. [2] In 1962, the show was expanded to eight days and renamed the "Pennsylvania Sports and Outdoor Show". [3]
On January 15, 2013 Reed Exhibitions, the promoter of the show, announced that modern sporting rifles (MSRs) and related products would not be permitted at the show. Following the announcement, hundreds of its exhibitors and most of its celebrity speakers cancelled. Following opposition by the National Rifle Association of America (NRA), and a statement by the National Shooting Sports Foundation that they would stop co-organizing with Reed for their annual SHOT Show, Reed announced the indefinite postponement of the ESOS, which would later be cancelled. [4]
Tourism officials for the Hershey and Harrisburg Region of Pennsylvania said that the postponement and eventual cancellation of the ESOS in 2013 resulted in an estimated $80 million loss to the local economy. Officials with the Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitors Bureau reported $44 million of that loss was in direct spending from the 1,000 vendors and estimated 250,000 visitors attending the show each year. [5] Regional hotels reported the event accounted for approximately 12,000 room-nights during what was typically a slow period for occupancy.[ citation needed ]
The National Rifle Association was chosen over 16 other applicants to replace the show starting in 2014 with a new event at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex called the Great American Outdoor Show. [6] [ permanent dead link ] [7] [8]
Harrisburg is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger principal city of the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area, also known as the Susquehanna Valley, which had a population of 591,712 in 2020 and is the fourth-most populous metro area in Pennsylvania. Harrisburg is situated on the east bank of the Susquehanna River and is located 83 miles (134 km) southwest of Allentown and 107 miles (172 km) northwest of Philadelphia.
Dauphin County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 286,401. The county seat is Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's state capital and ninth-most populous city. The county was created on March 4, 1785, from part of Lancaster County and was named after Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France, the first son of King Louis XVI. The county is part of the South Central Pennsylvania region of the state.
Hershey is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is home to the Hershey Company, which was founded by candy magnate Milton S. Hershey, and Hersheypark, an amusement park.
Hersheypark is a family theme park in the eastern United States in Hershey, Pennsylvania, about fifteen miles (25 km) east of Harrisburg, and 95 miles (155 km) west of Philadelphia. The park was founded in 1906, by Milton S. Hershey as a leisure park for the employees of the Hershey Chocolate Company. It is wholly and privately owned by Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company. Hersheypark has won several awards, including the Applause Award.
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The Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center, formerly known as State Farm Show Arena and informally known simply as the Farm Show, is a large exhibition center and indoor arena in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is primarily used for concerts, agricultural exhibitions, the Pennsylvania Farm Show, and indoor football. The complex also hosts more than 200 other exhibits and trade shows every year. The Farm Show Complex is 60 acres (240,000 m2), houses 24 acres (97,000 m2) under roof, spread throughout 11 connected buildings including three arenas.
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Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company is a privately held company based in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Milton S. Hershey established HE&R in 1927 to distinguish and separate his chocolate manufacturing company from his other business ventures. All of his non-chocolate producing businesses were established as Hershey Estates, renamed HERCO, Inc. in 1976 and Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company in 1998.
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Pennsylvania Route 39 (PA 39) is a 17.83-mile-long (28.69 km) state highway located in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. PA 39 runs from North Front Street near Harrisburg east to U.S. Route 322 (US 322) and US 422 near Hummelstown and Hershey. The route passes through the northern and eastern suburbs of Harrisburg and passes by Hersheypark, Giant Center, as well as the primary production factory for The Hershey Company. Between Harrisburg and Manada Hill, it is known as Linglestown Road, from Manada Hill to Hershey as Hershey Road and from Hershey to near Hummelstown and Hershey as Hersheypark Drive. Prior to the establishment of PA 39 in 1937, PA 39, had previously been designated as a route in northeastern Pennsylvania during the 1920s. That designation was deleted when it was renumbered US 11. As a result, PA 39 is one of a few routes which has a set of child routes which are no where near the primary route.
American Rifleman is a United States-based monthly shooting and firearms interest publication, owned by the National Rifle Association of America (NRA). It is the 33rd-most-widely-distributed consumer magazine and the NRA's primary magazine. The magazine has its headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia.
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Abe Walsh is an American author who has written extensively about his hunting, fishing and back-country adventures. He has written for over 25 magazine titles, and authored or ghost-written several hardcover books on the subject. He has also appeared on-camera on television hunting shows.
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