Canoecopia 2026

[billconner]

Made my hotel reservations. Will look at air before long but not always less in advance any more, plus drive and train are not off the table. It's a great event if you've never been. this will be like no 20 for me.
March 13-15, Madison WI.

 

[BWCA66]

It will be interesting to see chat if any changes will take place with the potential sale of Rutabaga, at least they are not closing.

 

[billconner]

Yes indeed. But Canoecopia is after all the Rutabaga store relocated for 3 days to the Alliant Energy Center, so sort of inseparable.

 

[ABT]

Yes indeed. But Canoecopia is after all the Rutabaga store relocated for 3 days to the Alliant Energy Center, so sort of inseparable.

Someone told me (when Rutabaga was closing) that they would be changing over to a different model where the vendors/suppliers would be bringing their own inventory to sell instead of Rutabaga’s. Can’t remember if that was in one of Darren’s posts or if it was Bill Swift that told me when I talked to him a few weeks ago. Now that they are not closing, I am assuming it will stay the same as it used to be - pretty much all Rutabaga inventory.

 

[Punkinhead]

I'm curious if manufacturers sell boats at Canoecopia or it's just a place to showcase their boats and you have to order from a dealer. I'm in the market for a tandem and plan to attend this year. No dealers near me so if I can't buy at the show I'll have to make a separate trip to a dealer. I guess the odds of them having brought the model I want in the layup I want with the trim I want are kind of slim though.

 

[billconner]

Rutabaga sells "boats" and much more at canoecopia. They move the store for the week and order a lot.

 

[Tryin']

If its on the floor, generally, its for sale. There are usually a LOT of boats. Be there Friday for best selection, by Saturday night, quite a few are gone.

 

[Marten]

They have a lot.of boats and will have them in storage in back or off site for easy transport to.your car.

 

[Punkinhead]

"They" being Rutabaga or the manufacturers themselves?

 

[billconner]

"They" being Rutabaga or the manufacturers themselves?

I believe most items are Rutabaga inventory. I recall when the show was canceled the evening before for Covid, Darren was sweating being stuck with a lot of inventory. Of course as things worked out, demand for outdoor gear exploded. But I believe most of its is Rutabaga and you check out at Rutsbaga cash registers/terminals.

A few items - crafts and books perhaps - are simply renting space and selling direct.

 

[ABT]

"They" being Rutabaga or the manufacturers themselves?

But I believe most of its is Rutabaga and you check out at Rutsbaga cash registers/terminals.

A few items - crafts and books perhaps - are simply renting space and selling direct.

Yeah, mostly Rutabaga with very few exceptions. Boats on the floor may or may not be Rutabaga inventory, but as noted they have an offsite warehouse with a ton of inventory for the show. So if you like a boat you see on the floor, you can go to the boat ordering area (semi circle set up with several desks/stations and sales folks) and either see if they have something you like in inventory or order exactly what you want for a later pickup. Boats are usually discounted if ordered or purchased at the show. Northstar is 10% off as is most other rutabaga inventory (paddles, etc). Swift is only $200 on boats but not sure if that’s their inventory or rutabaga’s or both. If you know what you want, you can order it ahead of time for pickup at the show as well and still get the discount. I did that with my Polaris last year since I knew it was a special order in IXP anyway, and I wanted the discount. No sales tax on Swift if ordered ahead and they bring it down for you, which can be significant.

 

[Punkinhead]

Thanks. Unfortunately I don't know exactly what I want yet. See my Help me pick a tandem thread. Ordering for later pickup isn't a big deal since my daughter lives in Madison and we visit somewhat frequently.

 

[ABT]

Not sure if it’s been discussed already and I missed it, or if it hasn’t been mentioned yet, but I was curious if there will be a forum member meetup at Canoecopia this year?

 

[Tryin']

My son and I will be there Friday and Saturday, but not Sunday. If anyone wants to meet up for a meal or coffee, I'm game.

BWCA.com has a meet-up Saturday night, so I imagine there would be some crossover conflict there.

 

[jdeerfoot]

As I noted in another Canoecopia thread, almost all stock at the show is Rutabaga stock. Or at least it used be that way. I worked at the show four different years (2019 being the last time) and that was how it was explained to me. One year I bought a pair of Piragis canoe pants which I had to pay for at the Piragis booth since it was their direct sale. All sales that go through the large checkout are Rutabaga sales. Another year I helped unload boats during setup for the show and the Rutabaga boat manager told me they typically had about 1200 boats in stock for the show - and he pointed out that they were all Rutabaga stock. I guess it makes sense that Darren Bush (Rutabaga’s owner) intends to retain ownership over Canoecopia regardless of what happens to the store (which still for sale to the right buyer according to Darren’s column in the show magazine).

I remember Darren introducing a guy at a show employee meeting as his financier. Which made sense considering the likely investment in stock for the show.

Several different times it was mentioned that the paddle sports industry used sales at the show as an accurate indicator of sales for the whole industry that year.

 

[billconner]

I'd be interested in a meet up but my son may meet up with me. Schedule something and I'll try to make it. I'm not doing BWCA.com dinner.

 

[ABT]

My wife and I are getting in Friday evening and will likely go straight to the show. I’m pretty terrible at planning things but I’d be up for breakfast or coffee before going on Saturday morning, or lunch or something Saturday. Or even just meeting up in the early afternoon Saturday at one of the open tables in the common area to trade thoughts on stuff we’ve seen, etc. We’re pretty flexible.

 

[JohnNevets]

Hey folks. I'm one of the members here building a stripper canoe, and I have a request for anyone going to Canoeacopia from the MSP area. One of the members here who has also built the same canoe up in the Twin Cities area, specifically Minnetonka, has graciously offered to give me his forms to use for my build. But that is still over a 4hr drive each way for me. So while a very kind offer, doesn't quite make sense, despite the amount of time it would save me in the long run. But than I thought, with Canoeacopia coming up I might find someone making that drive down there from the cities anyway, and I could pick them up at the show. So would someone who is making that trip be willing to haul a set of canoe forms down for me? I'd be willing to pay gas for your round trip down to Madison for the trouble. As of now I could be there Friday and or Sunday, but wasn't planning on Saturday. But I could maybe work on that if it was the only day someone was planning on being there.

Thanks for considering this,

John

 

[jdeerfoot]

Canoecopia 2026 observations:
1) Both Friday and Saturday appeared to have light attendance. I have attended the show annually since the early 1980’s and this really stood out to me. I didn’t attend Sunday due to the coming storm;
2) I was through the checkout 3 times on Saturday and there was never a line or a wait to get to a cashier (very unusual, especially on a Saturday);
3) the show floor was never crowded, easy to move about both there and in the Atrium;
4) my favorite non-profit in the Atrium, the Girl Scout cookie booth, reported great sales Saturday morning and almost none in the afternoon (my group, The Friends of Wabakimi, did their best to keep sales up in the afternoon);
5) The two top presenters were not there - Kevin Callan is not coming to the states now due to the current political situation and Cliff Jacobsen has retired from doing show presentations.

Maybe it was the storm coming on Sunday or economic concerns, who knows, but it certainly seemed to be a lightly attended show. My group, which has about a 50/50 membership of US and Canadian members, usually has maybe 4-6 Canadian members attend. But this year none came.

Lastly, I learned that Rutabaga, Darren Bush’s business and the show sponsor, continues to be for sale. Apparently, earlier announced possible buyers of the shop have backed out.

 

[billconner]

I agree attendance was down and really down Sunday. Since the 2020 cancelled show, attendance has been like pre pandemic attendance.

I missed the Happy Camper, but Ron Kesselring was very good, as were the Hudson Bay Girls. Didn't buy anything, a combo of age and travelling by air. Which was not good - late flight cancelled very late so hoteled in Chicago and back at OHare, fingers crossed.

It will be interesting to see what happens next year. I heard now both the store and conference is for sale, another permutation.