Set for next Saturday, February 8 is the Dowagiac Conservation Club’s 28th annual Hunter’s Rendezvous.
Dowagiac Conservation Club President Craig Lyons tells us they hold the gathering each year to raise funds for youth programs while giving the whole community a chance to enhance their knowledge of the outdoors.
“Outdoorsmen or even people that are just interested in the outdoors, they could come to our facility,” Lyons said. “We have things on display like large deer or fish or turkeys that have been taken throughout the season in the area. They can bring them there, get them scored for record books or just have them on display for other people to see.”
Lyons says the event will also feature have raffles, an auction, informational booths, a representative of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and live wild animals with experts to talk about them.
“It’s just kind of a family fun event that people can come, talk with other people that are into the outdoors and kind of see what’s going on in the area.”
Lyons says the Dowagiac Conservation Club uses funds raised through the Hunter’s Rendezvous to offer free hunter safety classes, outdoor books that are placed in little free libraries all over the area, outdoor camps, and a scholarship.
The event is the club’s biggest fundraiser each year, attracting around 300 people in a typical year. It’s free to get in and everyone’s welcome.
The Hunter’s Rendezvous will be Saturday, February 8 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Dowagiac Conservation Club at 54551 M-51 in Dowagiac.
