Have you ever cut a big old tree, planning precise cuts for it to drop in a specific spot? Only to hear it crack, tilt and begin the slow groan of falling in the opposite direction, directly toward your 4-wheeler.
Those moments just before impact, you get this indescribable feeling in the pit of your stomach, knowing there is absolutely nothing you can do. Simply watch, helplessly.
It’s that feeling I sometimes get during the Woods-N-Water News Outdoor Weekend. Once it starts, there isn’t much we can do to change the direction. So you just roll with the punches and make the best of it.
It’s taken me many years to understand and learn this. And with this being our 40th Outdoor Weekend, I’ve grown accustomed to the unexpected.
On one Friday evening a few years back, after closing hours, I was chatting with a family friend, Mark Madeline, who was helping us watch the parking gates on the south side of the fairgrounds.
“How’s it going?” I asked Mark.
“You’ve got a ‘wild beaver’ in the parking lot, chasing people all over,” Mark said with little hesitation and a faint smile.
“A mom and her daughter came running up to me, screaming for help, shouting that a ‘wild beaver’ was chasing them all over the parking lot,” Mark continued and pointing to where the ‘wild beaver’ was chasing them.
“After all these years of doing the Outdoor Weekend, I have to tell you that’s a new one,” I responded.
“Well, she was serious,” Mark states.
Like that tree that falls in the opposite direction than planned, you get that funny feeling in your stomach and just roll with the punches.
I thought, maybe this is a good thing, it will add lore to the show, a little legend in the making. This just may be what we need to produce some ambiance for their show experience. Keeping us one step ahead of the other outdoor shows, wild animals in the parking lot!
By this time next year, as stories sometimes do, it may take on an outdoor experience we can’t duplicate. The story could be a wolverine or a bear deciding to make the fairgrounds in Imlay City his home? Or maybe it could even become the tall tale of a cougar lurking between cars?
The truth, of course, is that a groundhog found cars and trucks parked over one of its burrows. Not a ‘wild beaver.’ The groundhog may have taken his territorial act a little too far, though. I don’t think he thought his bluffs through very well, since the fairgrounds was full of 15,000 hunters. Sooner or later, he would meet his demise. Accidentally or intentionally, he did.
And speaking of that tree that falls exactly where you didn’t intend? Our staff puts many hours into the Outdoor Weekend, planning, organizing and directing. It seldom comes off exactly as we envisioned, but close enough to please most, and we are thankful for that.
Our busy time for the Outdoor Weekend is now, with the show layout and getting vendor space reserved.
For this year, our 40th, we have a return of the Lumberjack Show. From log rolling to axe throwing, they promise to be entertaining. Plus, we are bringing back Milt Wilcox and the Ultimate Air Dogs. It will be good to see our old friend and the incredible skills of those high-flying dogs.
Our ‘Puppy Tent’ is always a favorite, and we have improved the health and safety of the pups thanks to the folks at the Hunting Dog Federation. If you are interested in selling or buying a puppy, they can offer tips to ensure your new best friend is safe and healthy.
There are plenty of outdoor experts to talk with you about dog training, waterfowl hunting, whitetail hunting, wild game preparation, cooking, firearms, tree stand hunting, food plots, ice fishing, boating experts, ATV and UTV experts, as well as camping and camper experts to chat with.
Can Am will present ATV demonstrations and demo rides for qualified riders. A demo track will be constructed at the fairgrounds so you can get a feel for the machine.
You can’t test-drive the newest fishing boats, but there will be plenty on display, and maybe a few snowmobiles.
A popular part of this selling show is small tractors for food plots and all the equipment to attach to them; rototillers, seeders, culipackers, blades and buckets.
There will be row after row of zero-turn lawn mowers and enough chainsaws to clear a small forest on sale. We will even have a working sawmill and log splitters.
Holy smokes, why wouldn’t an outdoor enthusiast show up at the Outdoor Weekend?
We are thankful for the help we get from our small staff, family and friends. The Outdoor Weekend has grown too big without the help of many, most of whom put on their other hats during the week to bring you the Woods-N-Water News.
The local community of Imlay City has embraced the Outdoor Weekend as well and we are thankful. The Eastern Michigan Fairgrounds, the police department, fire department and city officials have always provided us with helpful opportunities to expand and grow.
So no, the tree doesn’t always fall exactly where we intend, but you can bet, like the past 40 years, we will do everything we can so you get the most for your $10 investment. Of course, children under 12 are free!.
Come to the Outdoor Weekend and help us celebrate our Michigan outdoor heritage!
The 2026 Outdoor Weekend will be held September 11, 12 and 13 at the Eastern Michigan State Fairgrounds. Friday, 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. We’re looking forward to the 40th well, sort of, if things go as planned.
Email Randy, rjorgensen@pageone-inc.com
