Immersion Research 2008

The US retail paddlesports season is traditionally kicked off by Rutabaga’s Canoecopia show in early March. I just got back from this show, and with nighttime temps in the minuses and every body of water frozen solid, we had a captive audience to sell and market to. We set up our booth with a myriad of IR goodies, some new, some old and some that never go out of style. Most of the visitors to the show come from the midwestern/Great Lakes area, and the focus is on sea kayaking with some whitewater sprinkled in. The Great Lakes, for those of you who don’t live close to them, offer some amazing sea kayaking, including surf, caves, rugged shore and wild storms. There is also a very stout, albeit short, whitewater season.

In addition to the booth, IR had a solid presence in the speaker and presentation rooms. We were affiliated, to some degree, with a lot of the presenters, including fishing guru, Capt Jerry Sparks, John Grace, Danny Mongno, Kelly Blades, and Russell Farrow. Russell’s presentation on his team’s pending Vacation to Hell expedition was the talk of the show.
The show is also replete with hours activities, including Badger Bowl and the High Noon Saloon. These extra curricular affairs make for some good times and long days, but we have a good time!
Special thanks to the awesome staff and volunteers who were a ton of help, as I was flying solo!