Outdoors shows around Chicago, 2021-22: Expansive list of shows, swap meets & classes, update 14

Here’s the expansive list of outdoors shows, classes and swap meets around Chicago and beyond, primarily for the winter of 2022; update 14.

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Feb. 8, 2020 was the last time Dale Bowman attended a local outdoors show (the Tinley Park Fishing Show above) and it will not happen again this year as it canceled on Dec. 17; show season, once projected to return in force this year, now has building cancellations. Credit: Dale Bowman

Feb. 8, 2020 was the last time Dale Bowman attended a local outdoors show (the Tinley Park Fishing Show above) and it will not happen again this year as it canceled on Dec. 17; show season, once projected to return in force this year, now has building cancellations.

Dale Bowman

UPDATE 14: Sandwich Sportsman’s Club Swap Meet

UPDATE 13: DRiFT’s Fly Fishing Auction

UPDATE 12: Fish-On: Portage’s Fishing and Outdoor Show

UPDATE 11: Add Sandwich Sportsman’s Club Annual Swap Meet 

UPDATE 10: Rockford Boat, Vacation & Fishing Show

UPDATE 9: Add Fish Tales & Tackle Sales Outdoor Show/Swap Meet.

UPDATE 8: Dates for the Chicago Travel & Adventure Show are updated

UPDATE 7: Added the Illinois Bass Fishing Coaches Association’s Clinic and all-state awards.

UPDATE 6: Chicagoland Fishing, Travel & Outdoor Expo

UPDATE 5: Add the Northwest Indiana Fishing and Outdoor Expo.

UPDATE 4: Northern Illinois Boat Show

UPDATE 3: The Tinley Park Fishing Show

UPDATE 2: Add Bedford Sales Open House.

UPDATE 1: All-Canada Show

The last outdoors show I attended was March 6, 2020 at the Bassmaster Classic Outdoor Expo in Birmingham, Ala. The last big show locally for me was Feb. 8, 2020 on opening day of the Tinley Park Fishing Show.

I expect to be back at major shows this winter. I felt definite about that until word came of omicron.

There’s one major change. The Chicago Boat Show, the area’s longest running show, postponed again to 2023.

Officially, it is “a result of current needs and economics of the Chicagoland market, including the supply chain disruptions and historically low market-specific boat inventory.” Take that with a grain of salt.

The Muskie Expo Chicago opens the show season Jan. 7-9 at the Kane County Fairgrounds in St. Charles. The show moved there after Pheasant Run closed in 2020. The All-Canada Show also moved there on Jan. 20-23. CANCELED

The big fishing show—the Chicagoland Fishing, Travel & Outdoor Expo—is in its usual slot from Jan. 27-30 at the Schaumburg Convention Center. POSTPONED

The delayed arrival of the Illinois Deer Classic is April 1-3 at Peoria Civic Center.

The Henry Decoy Show, now the longest running show in Illinois with the Boat Show postponed, plans to move to Exposition Gardens in Peoria. That change to a non-school setting will also allow Jason Baldwin to expand the options for what is allowed.

The Tinley Park Fishing Show also grows.

“I have expanded the field house for the 2022 show,” show manager Rich Komar emailed. “We are excited and are looking forward to bringing it back.”

The show is on its usual second weekend of February (Feb. 12-13) at Tinley Park High School.CANCELED

The expansive list of shows, classes and swap meets is posted (and updated as needed) below. If you have additions, subtractions or other changes, please email (BowmanOutside@gmail.com) or contact me on Facebook (Dale Bowman), Twitter (@BowmanOutside) or Instagram (@BowmanOutside).

2022 CHICAGO-AREA OUTDOOR SHOWS

Dec. 3-5: St. Paul Ice Fishing and Winter Sports Show, St. Paul RiverCentre, Minn.

Jan. 7-9: Muskie Expo Chicago, Kane County Fairgrounds, St. Charles

Jan. 7-9: Let’s Go Fishing Show, Gateway Convention Center, Collinsville

Jan. 8: Illinois Bass Fishing Coaches Association’s Clinic and all-state awards: Scheels, Springfield

Jan. 13-16: Northern Illinois Outdoor Sports Show, Lake County Fairgrounds & Event Center, Grayslake

Canceled Jan. 20-23: All-Canada Show, Kane County Fairgrounds, St. Charles

Jan. 21-23: Bedford Sales Open House, Morris

Postponed to 2023 Jan. 27-30: Chicagoland Fishing, Travel & Outdoor Expo, Schaumburg Convention Center

Jan. 29-30: Capt. Dan Keating Schools, Lake Michigan Angler, Winthrop Harbor, Foundations, Salmon 101, Jan. 29, Advanced Tactics & Seasonal Strategies, Jan. 30

Feb. 5: Musky Road Rules, Holiday Inn, Elk Grove Village

Feb. 5-6: Spring Lake Izaak Walton Outdoor Show, 4700 W. 49th Avenue, Hobart, Ind.

Feb. 11-13: Muskie Expo Milwaukee, Washington County Fair Park, West Bend, Wis.

Canceled: Feb. 12-13: Tinley Park Fishing Show, Tinley Park High School.

Feb. 13: Henry Decoy Show, Exposition Gardens, Peoria

Feb. 16-19: NWTF Convention & Sport Show, Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, Nashville

Postponed Feb. 18-20: Rockford Boat, Vacation & Fishing Show, Indoor Sports Center, Loves Park

Feb. 17-20: Chicago RV & Camping Show, Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont

Feb. 18-20 and 23-27: Indianapolis Boat, Sport and Travel Show, Indiana State Fairgrounds

Updated Dates Feb. 19-20: Chicago Travel & Adventure Show, Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont

Feb. 19: Midwest Musky Club Swap Meet, Village Sportsman’s Club, Alsip, (630) 302-0759 or larry@riotracing.com

Feb. 19: Russell’s Fishing Tech Chicagoland Advanced Salmon and Trout Tactics School and Tackle Show, Wood Dale

Feb. 26: Salmon Unlimited Swap Meet, River Grove Moose Lodge

Feb. 26: Hoosier Coho Club’s Fish Tales & Tackle Sales Outdoor Show/Swap Meet, Orak Shrine. Michigan City, Ind.

Feb. 26-27: Fish-On: Portage’s Fishing and Outdoor Show, Woodland Park, Portage, Ind.

Postponed to 2023 March 3-6: Northern Illinois Boat Show, New Lake County Fairgrounds, Grayslake

March 4-6: Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo, Greenville, S.C.

March 4-6: Northwest Indiana Fishing and Outdoor Expo, Lincoln Community Center, Highland, Ind.

March 5: Indoor Fishing Flea Market, Rolling Meadows High School

March 10-13: Journal Sentinel Sports Show, Wisconsin State Fair Park Exposition Center, West Allis, Wis.

March 10-13: Ultimate Sports Show, DeVos Place, Grand Rapids, Mich.

March 11-13: Canoecopia, Alliant Energy Center, Madison, Wis.

March 11-13: National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic, Omaha, Neb.

March 12: Fish & Hook Sports Show, VFW Post 5788, Lockport

March 12: Fox River Valley chapter of Muskies Inc.’s annual banquet, Schaumburg Golf Club

March 13: Quad County Hawg Hunters’ Fishing Flea Market, Plano American Legion, dlandmeier@frontier.com or 815-286-7170

March 19: Walleyes Unlimited swap meet, Fox Lake Legion Hall

April 1-3: Illinois Deer Classic, Peoria Civic Center

April 26-30: North American Vintage Decoy and Sporting Collectibles Show, Westin Chicago Lombard

April 30: Riverside Fishing Club swap meet, LaGrange American Legion

April 30: DRiFT’s Fly Fishing Auction, VFW Post 2801, Villa Park

Canceled May 22: Sandwich Sportsman’s Club Annual Swap Meet

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