What are you looking for in a canoe expo?

[Tryin']

Please select responses that most closely align with your ideals. Due to limitations on polling setup, this is the only way to ask multiple questions in the same poll.

I had a lot more questions, but apparently this is the maximum number of responses allowed.

Please drop any other thoughts you have in the comments.

If there is a good number of responses here, I may add a survey link for something more in-depth later.

 

[dutchlennart]

Free beer
And kevin callan vs Cliff Jacobson about hanging food in trees?
Or are the pension of Cliff and Kevin's boycot to come the real reasons why Canoepoia is not longer planned.
I guess most is about finding some volunteer to runthe showand some willing brands to step up the plate.
Thanks Trying for pushing the stuff forward. hopefullyyouu or another crew succes is getting something on the callander.

 

[Alan Gage]

I'm not voting because it's unlikely I would attend anything more than a couple hours away and maybe even not then. I've never attended Canoecopia but did attend Midwest Moutaineering's spring event in Minneapolis a few times. Like Canoecopia it had been a long standing tradition but it was finally called off not too long before the store shut down (due to owner retirement I believe). There were a lot of vendors (canoes, gear, outfitters, etc) and plenty of speakers.

I attended a few of the presentations but never cared for them much. They were not a draw for me.

It was nice to walk around all the vendor booths but, again, not really a draw for me. Most of the things I was likely to be interested in I was already familiar with.

For me the big draw was the used canoe auction. Anyone could bring in their used canoe or kayak and they had an auctioneer them to sell them off. This was very entertaining to me at the time since I was so into boats and I made more than one impulse buy at the auction. Probably not a big draw for most other people though.

Having water available for paddle demos sounds good on paper but seems like it could be overwhelming in real life. Staffing must be an issue for the manufacturers as well as the organization putting on the event and trying to keep a functional, safe, and worthwhile canoe demo going at the same time seems like it would be quite difficult. I might be wrong but I would guess new boat sales are a small percentage of what actually makes the event money.

I commend you for at least contemplating taking this on!

Alan

 

[Punkinhead]

I checked "I would prefer another time of year" instead of "Late winter/early spring is the best time for an expo" even though I think early Spring probably is the best time from a business point of view. I only voted that way because I personally go somewhere warm for the winter, but if I were selling canoes I would want the expo to be just before the paddling season opens.

 

[dutchlennart]

For the paddling brands timing is always hard. the timing of pumkinhead seems to make sense. on the other hand that time is the most bussy becasuasee all customers (both private and shops) want the stuff then.

When i was young i was part of the crew that organizieen d one of the biggest shows in the nehterlands that was early to mid March. the stands where a mix of shops/ brands/ organisations coaching or holidays and some others.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

I hesitate to answer the poll for the same reason as Alan, although I don't mind driving a bit farther. I've always thought I'd like to attend Canoecopia, but a day's drive is about my limit for such things.

 

[Tryin']

I would encourage all to vote. Indiana being an unacceptable location is totally fine.

1. I'm trying to poll the group as a whole
2. The rest of the answers may benefit someone looking at doing the same thing, but closer to you.

 

[jdeerfoot]

I have attended all Canoecopia events and earlier events before it was called Canoecopia missing only the year or so of no shows due the pandemic. I also worked at four shows doing setup and during the show itself.

What I found most interesting was the ability to talk directly to the vendors who make the goods. One of the main jobs while helping setup the show was to assist vendors in setting up the booths. It was a great opportunity to get to know the vendors and get their take on the paddlesports industry.

Lastly, my large paddling group met during the show and helped staff our booth in the Atrium. It was kind of a min-reunion and allowed to plan for trips together later in the season.

 

[snapper]

@Tryin' - I realize this is probably in the exploratory phase but I'm wondering if you've talked with any of the small shops across NYS (or elsewhere) that already offer paddling events? Here in NYS you can usually find "expos" in the Adirondacks and the Capitol region (Albany/Saratoga). It might be worth investigating if any of these smaller retailers would like to expand what they're already doing.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

 

[Tryin']

@snapper

I have not reached out to any existing events yet, save for the original Canoecopia.

My current trajectory is to:

1. Establish the scope and purpose
2. Gauge general interest
3. Gauge industry interest

After that, I will recruit some advisors, revisit point 1, and start nailing down a venue along with setting a budget and revenue model.

Assuming we get that far, it's off to get commitments from vendors and establish the educational aspect of the event.

If things haven't collapsed by then, then we setup the legal and operational framework.

And finally: market the frick out of it.

 

[Tryin']

@Alan Gage

I would love to have a private sales aspect to the show. An auction could definitely be a pathway for that.

 

[billconner]

I fly to canoecopia so where doesn't matter to me but I do think BWCA and Quetico are the canoeing capital of North America so I would recommend near them. Minneapolis would be my recommendation.

And I mostly go for the session, which are usually packed.

Reach out to Darren. He probably has multiple more to offer than anyone here. I think he'd love to see it continue.