We are once again excited to host a celebration of Michigan’s Outdoor Heritage, the first weekend after Labor Day, the annual kick-off to the fall season; it’s the 40th anniversary of the Woods-N-Water News Outdoor Weekend. This great event will take place Sept. 11-13 at the Fairgrounds in Imlay City. We have lined up an outstanding event for showgoers, starting with plenty of new and great outdoor retailers, educational displays, and exhibits…just about everything an outdoor enthusiast would need or want. Add a bunch of great entertainment: jumping dogs, a Lumberjack/jill Show, artistic chainsaw carvers, Native American storytellers/dancers, a Camp Chili Cook-Off (Saturday), ATV demo rides, climbing wall, and lots of food, refreshments, and puppies—lots of puppies. Here are a few of the highlights of this year’s event!
Free Deer Hunting Licenses
Friday Night Only
The Outdoor Weekend, in conjunction with the MDNR and the Woods-N-Water News Outdoor Foundation, to further our commitment to the outdoors, on Friday, Sept. 11 (3-8pm) at the Outdoor Weekend, we are giving FREE 2026 DEER HUNTING LICENSES to the first 100 deer hunters who qualify for the Liberty Hunt. Be sure to have your Hunter Safety Certificate or purchased a 2025 hunting license and check the MDNR Hunting regulations for qualification for the Liberty Hunt
Where Dogs Sometimes Fly
They’re back! Milt Wilcox and the Ultimate Air Dogs are returning for the Dash To The Big Splash Bash. The UAF Regional Qualifier will be held at the Outdoor Weekend, right where it all started. The competition runs all weekend, and first-timers are welcome to try dock jumping this year. Your dog doesn’t need to be UKC or ASCA registered to participate. For more details and costs, visit Milt’s website at ultimateairdogs.com.
Raptor Returning
The Michigan Avian Experience has been a crowd favorite in recent years, so we’re bringing them back. They use non-releasable, wild, native Michigan raptors to create an educational and exciting conservation experience. Don’t miss the “Raptor Meet and Greet” on Saturday and Sunday—this is your chance to get close to a bald eagle and snap some great photos!
Foss Locked Antler Display
If you’re fascinated by antlers and the rare sight of ‘locked antlers,’ you have to check out the Foss collection. The Foss Brothers have spent years gathering these unique antlers, and Ron will display the entire collection all weekend. You won’t want to miss it.
Seminars
Adam Lewis is back to lead our seminar lineup. With more than 34 years of whitetail hunting experience, success on both public and private land, and 24 years in education, Adam is also an award-winning outdoor writer with hundreds of published articles. His seminars will cover: How to Take Big Bucks Consistently—A Proven System to Harvest Top Bucks Year After Year, and Make a Big Buck Factory—A Systematic Approach to Maximize Your Land.
Rich Chrzan of Killer Food Plots is also returning, bringing his deep knowledge of land and habitat improvement. He’ll show you how to take your hunting property to the next level for deer hunting.
This year, we’re welcoming Predator Hunter Outdoors to the seminar stage. Whether you’re calling coyotes, hunting hogs, tracking predators at night, or scouting new hunting grounds, Predator Hunter Outdoors will help you succeed with the knowledge and right equipment. They’ll make sure you’re ready to hunt even after the sun goes down!
Country Smoke House Field Dressing Demo
Steve and Sue Francis and family, owners of Country Smoke House in Almont. The seminars have turned into an ‘everything you need to know about what to do after you shoot your deer!’ Steve and his family will give field-dressing demos, skinning and butchering tips, big-game cooking tips and sausage-making tips. You won’t want to miss these presentations on Saturday only at 3:00 p.m.
So Much More
If you have your grandfather’s old tackle box full of old lures, bring them (or photos) to the Outdoor Weekend and Terry McBurney, Woods-N-Water News staff writer, will answer questions and offer free appraisals about sporting collectibles, especially vintage fishing tackle. If you also have your grandfather’s old fishing reel or your favorite reel that’s not working quite right, bring it along to the event and have Jeff Reed, the fishing reel guru with nearly seven decades of fishing reel repair experience, take a look at it!
Back again will be three days of champion chainsaw carving demonstrations by Alonzo Montoya of Newaygo and Tom Gillman of Bay City, along with their sons. It’s amazing what these artists can do with a chainsaw!
Living history: Reg Pettibone and his family will teach Native American culture through interpretive dances and artifact displays of the Ho-Chunk nation on Saturday and Sunday.
There is so much happening at the 40th anniversary of the Woods-N-Water News Outdoor Weekend; come celebrate our outdoor heritage. September 11-13 at the Eastern Michigan Fairgrounds in Imlay City. Show times: 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. Admission is $10 per person; kids 12 and under are free, and parking is free. For more information, see the special insert in the middle of this issue, scan the QR code, visit outdoorweekend.net, or visit our Facebook page.
