Honestly, I didn’t feel the buzz at first. The bagpipe intro was interesting, but the overall feel was the same. It was so easy to do interviews and videos because it wasn’t that loud. And believe you me – I wanted loud and energetic (that reminds me to post some videos from the Drake Awards soon).

However, what I really liked about this show is that it was intimate. I was able to find, talk, hang with just about everyone I wanted. I loved how the the attendees embraced that it was just “us”. I would have been lost at Outside Retailer or iCast, just as always.

While there were some bumps and bruises at the IFTD Social Media Lounge, I think it was a positive step in what AFFTA wants to do in the future. Like others I was wondering about the lack of internet access at the show, but don’t blame AFFTA! Blame the pirates of the Denver Convention Center! Nevertheless, there was a great showing with writers and SM gurus hanging out at the booth all week. You have to understand, this part of the show was put together with little (or no) budget and within a month of the show. Next year will be completely different.

Which brings me to my next point – you ready New Orleans? Friday evening, AFFTA announced that it would be holding the 2011 IFTD show in Louisiana – Reds baby! Beads and beers galore! I’m excited about this and think the show will only grow. Companies that missed this year have announced they’re already coming back, and from what I’ve seen of the layout, it may be much different. Folks, I think we have some momentum here!

So, no product review just yet friends – you can find these all over the place. I’m going to get my hands on this stuff and take it to a stream!

]]> http://compleatthought.com/2010/09/12/iftd-2010/feed/ 0 http://compleatthought.com/2010/01/13/denver-ise-ffs-shows/ http://compleatthought.com/2010/01/13/denver-ise-ffs-shows/#comments Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:51:24 +0000 kyleindenver http://compleatthought.com/?p=397 Now that the Denver International Sportsman Expo and Fly Fishing Shows have passed, it’s time to get started on the next round of events. But I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the weekend and what great support we received at the Sportsman Alliance for Alaska and Trout Unlimited booths, and especially our Red Gold showing held Friday night.

It was a pleasure working with two of the most knowledgeable people on the Bristol Bay “No Pebble Mine” cause, Shoren Brown and Mark Hieronymus, as well as all the other volunteers that took time out of their weekend to help. But the highlight of my weekend was meeting Kurt ‘Ole’ Olson and the entire Egdorf family(Dave, Kim, and Camille). Ole and the Egdorfs were stars in the documentary Red Gold, which was shown Friday night at Cervantes’. I can’t tell you how impressed I was actually spending time with these amazing folks. We had a great turnout and emotional speeches from several people that will be directly impacted by the proposed mine.

Other notables that stopped by the booths to show their support included Todd Helton, Brian O’keefe, Brian Kraft, John Gierach, Tom Sadler and Dave Whitlock.

Thanks to everyone who showed their support at the shows and film. We raised a considerable amount of money, and got nearly 1,000 postcards signed to send to politicians to let them know people are aware of, and against, the proposed pebble mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska.

This is something true and dear to my heart, so if anyone has any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I’ll be happy to share what I can.

For more information on the cause, please visit Sportsman Alliance for Alaska and SaveBristolBay.org

Special thanks to Umpqua Feather Merchants for providing raffle items at the Red Gold showing.

I’ll have more pictures as I receive them.