Annual Sport, Rec and Trade Show offers outfitting for adventure

The 38th Annual Sport, Rec & Trade Show gathered vendors, activities, food trucks and more in the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex, in an event that runs through Sunday.

Kelly Martin, an organizer and chief executive officer for the Kenai Peninsula Association of Realtors, said Friday that this year’s show had more booths and an expanded footprint — taking up more of the recently renovated parking lot in front of the sports complex. There was a “huge” food court, people selling gear and vehicles like RVs, ATVs and boats, and people ready to help facilitate an adventure, like Kenai Aviation. There are also lots of returning activities for kids, like the family fun zone hosted by Connections Homeschool, the trout fishing pond run by the Kenai River Sportfishing Association, horse rides, archery and more.

“There’s something for everybody,” Martin said, like the Alaskan Made exhibit upstairs in the complex, great for Mother’s Day gift shopping.

Kathy Waterbury and Tasha Dawson were among the local craftspeople selling wares in the Alaskan Made exhibit Friday. Waterbury operates Fireweed Stitches. Dawson runs Bear Mountain Designs.

Waterbury said she was selling handmade purses and wallets. The sports show, she said, is an exciting early summer event with enough different vendors and attractions to draw a constant flow of people.

“It kicks off the summer,” she said. “Everybody’s starting to want to move around. Let’s get things happening.”

Saturday, the show will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, the show will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information, visit kenaisportshow.com or find “Kenai Peninsula Sport, Rec & Trade Show” on Facebook.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.