Cabin Fever Reliever show on tap in Brewer

Whether your part of Maine has been receiving rain or sleet or snow this week, there’s nothing like an outdoors expo to get you thinking about spring … and summer … and fall.

The annual events serve as harbingers of warmer times to many, and give snowbound Mainers an extra excuse to get out of the house. Those shows kick off this weekend, with the aptly named “Cabin Fever Reliever,” which is staged each year by the Penobscot Fly Fishers.

The Cabin Fever Reliever is a small, relaxed show, where attendees are encouraged to stop and interact with vendors. And using the term “vendors” is often inaccurate at this show: All exhibitors have been advised that the show’s main goal is education, and are encouraged to keep that tenet in mind.

The show will be held at the Brewer Auditorium (often referred to as the “World Famous Brewer Auditorium” by those of us who grew up in Brewer), and will enjoy a two-day run: Saturday from 10 a.m. until  5 p.m., Sunday from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Another cool part about the show: Admission is free.

2012 contest winner Jasper Walsh takes a few lunchtime casts in the East Outlet of the Kennebec River as guide Dan Legere snaps a photo. The BDN’s “Win a Drift Boat Trip” contest returns for its 11th year this year. Readers can enter at outdoor shows beginning with this weekend’s Cabin Fever Reliever in Brewer. (BDN photo by John Holyoke)

The BDN Outdoors crew — Aislinn Sarnacki, Aimee Thibodeau, and me —will be at the Cabin Fever Reliever again this year, and we look forward to chatting with you about the cool stuff we’ve got planned for the year ahead.

Among the topics we’re eager to talk about:

  • The nearly completed fifth issue of BDN Maine Outdoors, which features a cover story on hard-core paddlers who chase natural high-water events and vault off waterfalls. The stand-alone publication will hit newsstands in early March.
  • Aislinn’s popular 1-minute hikes, which have taken her around the state and resulted in some stunning videos, which we’ll have running at our booth.
  • Anything related to hunting, fishing, paddling, hiking. Or, for that matter, anything related to the outdoors that you think we ought to be paying more attention to.
  • Our 11th annual “Win a Drift Boat Trip” contest, which is sponsored by the Maine Guide Fly Shop in Greenville.

A year ago, at the suggestion of many readers, we began allowing folks to enter the drift boat trip contest at all the outdoor expos we attended. Previously, we ran the contest as a promotion at only the Eastern Maine Sportsmen’s Show in Orono.

The feedback was positive and many more people were able to enter the contest for the fishing trip of a lifetime.

Here are the details: On June 16 (Father’s Day), one lucky winner will join me and guide Dan Legere, the proprietor of the Maine Guide Fly Shop, for a day of fly fishing on the East Outlet of the Kennebec River.

Legere has provided the trip since its inception back in 2003, and our winners have often enjoyed the best day of fishing they’ve ever experienced. Some winners have been experienced anglers. Others have never touched a fly rod before.

And all have caught fish. Lots of fish.

Legere deserves the credit for that: I’ve watched a lot of people try to teach others to fly fish, and he is without peer in that category. He can simplify when necessary, or teach at a graduate-school level when the student is advanced enough to absorb his lessons.

The trip is a full-day drift (with a delicious shore lunch) in Legere’s comfy boat, which allows us to target the best lies on a magnificent Maine river.

Entry into the contest is free, and you can enter as many times as you like (within reason — some readers, who surely know who they are, have been known to push the envelope a bit on the “as many times as you like” rule).

If you don’t get out to the Cabin Fever Reliever, keep your eyes peeled for the clip-and-mail version of the entry blank, which will begin appearing in print editions of the BDN soon. Or, you can catch up with us at shows in Orono (March 8-10) or Augusta (March 29-31).

 

 

John Holyoke

About John Holyoke

John Holyoke has been enjoying himself in Maine's great outdoors since he was a kid. Today, he's the Outdoors editor for the BDN, a job that allows him to meet up with Maine outdoors enthusiasts in their natural habitat. The stories he gathers provide fodder for his columns, and this blog.