By MATT TUNSETH
Frontiersman
 ROBERT DeBERRY/Frontiersman Ben Hennila entertains the crowd during his cooking show Saturday at the Home Show. |
The combined Mat-Su Home and Garden and Mat-Su Outdoorsman shows at the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex drew more than 100 vendors and thousands of people anxious to get a gander at the latest and greatest in housewares and sporting equipment. The shows began Friday and continue through today.
After taking a walk through dozens of booth-lined aisles, Palmer's Gabe Carmen said he was impressed with the variety of goods and services on display.
“They really had a lot of stuff,” Carmen said. “I thought it was pretty cool.”
Carmen said he was pleasantly surprised to see the sportsman's show running alongside the home show.
“That was an added bonus,” he said.
Vendors said they were happy with the big crowds who showed up to check out housewares, appliances, hot tubs, siding, knives, reindeer sausage and everything in between.
Wasilla inventor Lyle Johnson took the opportunity to show off his new product, the E-Z Line Clamp and Cutter, a device that keeps fishing line from running off the spool and enables anglers to cut the line to a desired length.
“No more of this wrapping stuff,” he said, promising that the device would help fishermen keep tackle boxes neat and tidy.
Johnson said response at the show to his device was positive.
“I haven't had any negatives at all,” he said.
Not everyone at the show was there to hawk products or browse the aisles. Plenty of petitions circulated, and several booths were staffed by the likes of Army recruiters, chamber of commerce representatives and nonprofit groups circulating petitions.
Steve Keppel attended the show to sell tickets for the chance to win a 2006 Harley Davidson motorcycle valued at $21,000. Keppel said the raffle was a benefit for Nugen's Ranch, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility in the Valley.
A graduate of the ranch's program himself, Keppel said selling tickets for the motorcycle raffle is his way of giving back to the program that helped him turn his life around.
“I've got over two years clean and sober,” he said.
He said sales were good Saturday, with people either buying tickets out of a desire to win the bright red bike or simply wanting to help out the facility.
“A lot of people just do it to help out the ranch,” he said.
Both the sportsman's show and home and garden show will run through 5 p.m. today.
Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com
Comments
7 comment(s)Don Moody wrote on Mar 4, 2009 8:31 PM:
He seems like a snake oil salesman.
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a Jew wrote on Apr 30, 2008 6:59 AM:
“As far as I'm concerned, it's none of anybody's business,” he said.
“If somebody doesn't like it, they can get up and walk out any (rejected in comment) time they want. There never has been a problem ... until some New Yorker tried to stick their (rejected in comment) noses into our business.”
Ah McCarthy! Traditional Christian love!
"
Allison wrote on Apr 25, 2008 4:44 PM:
*Do as you want,as if everyone will still love you,anditkeepsyouhealthy* "
shayde wrote on Apr 18, 2008 12:03 PM:
rachel swanson wrote on Mar 13, 2008 8:28 PM:
Rachel
thanks "
jennifer wrote on Feb 22, 2008 2:40 PM:
shyanna wrote on Feb 15, 2008 8:52 PM: