After 23 years of being held in Traverse City, the Hunting & Fishing Expo is now the Gaylord Ultimate Hunting Expo at Ellison Place.

Poised on the I-75 corridor and in the heart of some of our most vast and wild areas, Gaylord is the jumping off point for all things northern Michigan. For quite some time, the Johnson Family of Gaylord’s Johnson Oil and Propane and Big Boys Adventure TV (seen on the Sportsman’s Channel) have taken notice of our show in Traverse City and have pursued us to promote a similar event on their turf.   The Johnsons are a family of community leaders in the greater Gaylord area and they are a family steeped in hunting heritage and values. Gaylord, of course is a pure hunting community and the fastest growing city Up North. Gaylord has been graced with new businesses, large and small, opening monthly. It is home to big box stores and a nice array of thriving mom & pop businesses. Gaylord also hosts 3 festival-type events each year which draw 30,000-70,000 visitors. It’s kind of like what Traverse City used to be more than 23 years ago when we started there. Gaylord has been discovered and is on a roll.   The timing is perfect. We are proud and thankful for our new Home.

Enter the Johnsons.   Several years ago, Kevin Johnson opened his Ellison Place Event Center immediately off exit 279 on I-75, approximately 2 miles south of downtown.   This building housed the old Jay’s Sporting Goods for years (a natural stop for outdoorsmen) and when Jay’s moved to a new location just a mile up the road, Kevin realized his goal of converting the building into a state of the art event center with a $1.8 million upgrade to the facility. The building is simply stunning and well equipped for events ranging from concerts to weddings to trade shows. It boasts more than adequate lighted parking, large ground level ingress/egress for visitors and vendors alike, bar with food and 30 large screen TVs throughout the 400’ long, 30,000 square foot building.  No more losing folks to MSU final four ball on Saturday! But most of all, it’s the team approach that the Johnson family and Ellison staff take with events, especially a hunting event which plays close to the heart for them.

So, no longer am I one guy putting a show together. I am now part of a team of 5 individuals who have a vested interest in making this the best Hunting show you will ever attend and be a part of. We meet frequently in the same room and brainstorm ideas on how this is going to be unlike anything before. I am able to attract vendors and do things for the show I simply was not able to before.

Please take a moment and log on to www.miellisonplace.com and take a look at the photos of this beautiful facility and then imagine yourself standing in their huge and elegant room surrounded by the most hunting exhibits ever assembled under one roof in northern Michigan.

Jim Liska

Event Organizer

231-526-1270 voice and text.