Thousands Flock to 8th Annual Ducks Unlimited Great Outdoors Festival

Ducks Unlimited
Friday, 14 June 2002

More than 70,000 people attended the 8th Annual Ducks Unlimited Great Outdoors Festival in Memphis, Tennessee. The festival, presented by Suzuki, took place May 31-June 2 on the grounds of the Agricenter International.

The DU Great Outdoors Festival is a collaboration between Ducks Unlimited and Primedia Outdoor Events. The concept is modeled on the European game fairs which are centuries old. Skilled professionals at numerous "sporting villages" guide both novice and experienced enthusiasts in a variety of activities, including archery, clay target shooting, fishing conservation, art, dog training, ATV testing, and camping.

The event is designed for family participation, offering a full complement of youth activities. According to Dana Barton at Ducks Unlimited, youth turnout this year was strong. Close to 2,000 youngsters fished for catfish in the Chevy fishing village, said Barton. And thousands more visited the shooting, biking and camping villages. According to the festival chairman, Russell Gwattney, the event attracted a total of 72,167 individuals. "Despite the high temperatures, we had higher family participation in all venues this year," said Gwatney. "It is great to see all the kids participating in outdoor sporting activities, many for the first time," continued Gwatney, expressing thanks to the volunteers who made the event possible.

Stressing Ducks Unlimited's heritage of conservation, waterfowling and the enjoyment of the outdoors, D.A. (Don) Young, DU's executive vice president, said he spent the entire weekend at the festival and was "tremendously pleased with the outcome." According to Young, DU and Primedia also invited festival attendees to engage in Project HomeSafe, a nationwide program of the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Its purpose is to promote safe firearms handling and storage practices among all firearms owners through safety education messages and distribution of free gun locking devices. More than 20,000 free safety devices were distributed during the three-day Festival, said Young. "It's a great honor to promote the shooting sports and share our waterfowling tradition. Safety is always our first concern and there's no better way to introduce basic safety measures than through this valuable program," said Young.

Cindy Caryl, event manager at Primedia Outdoor Events, said the event was a success in large part because of the variety afforded by many contributing partners. This year there were 425 sponsors and exhibitors, said Caryl. "Without them we wouldn't be able to bring this unique event to thousands of outdoors enthusiasts in the Mid-South," she added. Thousands cast lines in the catfish pond and paddled in canoes and kayaks in the Chevy Trucks Fishing Village. At the STIHL Timbersports stage, spectators felt the intensity and drama of close athletic competition. The world's top twenty-six axemen and sawyers competed in six different disciplines for cash, prizes and, most importantly, points toward the coveted title of 2002 STIHL Timbersports Champion. At the end of the Festival, New Zealand choppers Jason Wynyard & David Bolstad led the point's race leading into the next STIHL Timbersports competition, which will be held at the Ducks Unlimited Great Outdoors Festival in Oshkosh, Wis.

Shotgun, pistol and rifle shooters went through cases of ammunition at the Dodge Shooting Sports Village. Riders drove through simulated off-road conditions on the four tracks this year in the ATV Village. Droves of arrows flew through the air in the Archery Village. Extreme biking demonstrations wowed fans in the Toyota Biking & Camping Village. The Nissan Hunting Dog Village received rave reviews for the retriever training and technique seminars. In addition, leading industry manufacturers demonstrated their latest products. The Off-Road Village saw record numbers of over 2,800 attendees test-driving the latest models of trucks and off-road vehicles.

For those families who were unable to join us at the Ducks Unlimited Great Outdoors Festival in June, there will be another opportunity August 16-18, at the EAA Convention Grounds in Oshkosh, Wis. Also, the Festival will be back in Memphis June 6-8, 2003 at the Agricenter International.

The Ducks Unlimited Great Outdoors Festival presented by Suzuki is the largest outdoor event of its kind in the country. With more than one million supporters across North America, Ducks Unlimited has raised more than $1.5 billion to conserve more than 10 million acres of wetlands and other wildlife habitats in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and beyond. Look for Ducks Unlimited on the World Wide Web at www.ducks.org. Tune in to The World of Ducks Unlimited radio show airing nationwide, and, beginning in July, watch Ducks Unlimited TV on the Outdoor Life Network.

PRIMEDIA is the new tradition in media. With 2001 sales of $1.7 billion from a unique combination of traditional and new media properties, it is the leading provider of targeted content and integrated marketing solutions in both the consumer and business-to-business sectors. The Company is the #1 special interest magazine publisher in the U.S., with more than 300 titles such as Hunting, Guns & Ammo, Wildfowl, Seventeen, New York, Teen, Motor Trend, Fly Fisherman, American Baby, Telephony, American Demographics; the #1 producer and distributor of specialty video with 18 satellite and digital video product lines, including Channel One Network; and the #1 news and information group on the Internet, with over 1,000 special interest web sites. PRIMEDIA's stock symbol is: NYSE: PRM. More information about the Company can be found at www.PRIMEDIA.com.

For more information, or to contact Ducks Unlimited, see their website at: www.ducks.org