Orvis Sandanona shoots for a weekend Game Fair

MILLBROOK — Hunters and sporting good lovers alike gathered at the Orvis Sandanona shooting grounds in Millbrook for the fifth annual Game Fair and Orvis Cup 2011 on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 17 and 18. Orvis Sandanona, a sporting course with clay shooting and fishing schools, expected to have 5,000 attendees for the Game Fair weekend. Crowds gathered for a brisk fall weekend on the Orvis grounds to enjoy demonstrations and shooting opportunities. “The event is for everyone; there was a multitude of activities going on throughout the two-day period,” said Brian Long, senior manager of sporting traditions. “There were demonstrations of various natures, such as dog demonstrations, game and cooking demonstrations, decoy setups, goose calling, building bird houses, fly-fishing and fly tying.”In addition to the demonstrations, there was a Land Rover driving course as well as the National Shooting Sporting Foundation (NSSF) “first shots” station, allowing participants 12 years and older to have a chance to shoot a gun with an instructor. In total, the Orvis Game Fair featured 50 vendors and exhibitors, a variety of activities and plenty of food for attendees to enjoy during the weekend. A shuttle transported people from the center of Millbrook to the Orvis shooting grounds throughout the day free of charge.“The whole event was free, but those who went out and shot at the sporting games and stuff, there was a cost for that,” said Long. “There are definitely some fundraisers but it’s really an event to benefit the area.”Long said that the process of planning the Orvis Game Fair and Cup takes about a year. The Orvis team begins preparing for the next year’s events immediately after the current event ends; it begins with a discussion of how the event went, what can be improved and what was successful. “We feel that the event speaks to the Orvis brand and who the company is,” said Long. “Also, it really speaks to the community, and to what Millbrook is about. I would say that Millbrook is a pretty big sporting community as a whole.”The fair was highly attended by people from around the region. Next year the Orvis Game Fair will be held the same weekend as Millbrook’s Community Day.

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