Game Fair in Anoka, Minnesota: Review

For two weekends each August, the Armstrong Ranch Kennels plays host to the Game Fair, an outdoor sports convention with exhibitors, dog events and contests, seminars and other events. The Anoka Game Fair has been a Minnesota tradition since 1981.

We attended the Game Fair last weekend. I've seen the Game Fair advertised on telephone poles, buses and billboards around the city since I was a little girl, but never had a reason to attend, as I am not a hunter, fisherman, or outdoor sport enthusiast. But my significant other is, so off we went. We were going to take the dog, but decided against it. It was 95 degrees, very humid and the entire event is outdoors.

Parking is easy-you'll need to park in one of the nearby resident's yards-most of the people who live on the road leading up to Game Fair have a makeshift parking lot set up in their yard. Parking runs between $4-$5 for the day. We don't think there's any "official" Game Fair parking. Many of the residents' yards have tall trees, giving your car some much-needed shade. You'll probably have about a ¼ walk to the entrance. Feel free to bring soda or water-outside beverages are allowed. We brought along frozen bottles of water-good thing too, we could only find ONE drinking fountain in the entire fair.

At the entrance, a large sign greets you, "Dogs, Guns and Bows welcome!" Wow, I thought. You'd expect to see something like that out west in Montana or Wyoming, but in the Twin Cities area? That doesn't happen! Except for at the Game Fair! Admission is $10 for adults, but we printed off $1 off coupon on the Game Fair website.

Exhibitors are all over the place-it's huge. There's a total of 80 acres of fairgrounds. Exhibitors we saw included Outdoor News, Pheasants Forever, the Minnesota DNR, Iams dog food, Ducks Unlimited and more.

Wear your tennis shoes! I don't suggest wearing flip flops because the event is outdoors on very worn-down grass. If it rains, it will get muddy!

Those who want to bring their gun to Game Fair can compete in clay pigeon shooting contests. Bow hunters can participate in contest as well. For the kids, airguns and slingshot contest are available. Ladies receive a free coupon to try out a laser shooting event. I tried this out-it's exactly like Big Buck Hunter. You pla

Food was plentiful and prices were reasonable. We each had a delicious ice cream cone for only $2. Mini donuts were $3.50. Other food choices included hot dogs, corn dogs, BBQ sandwiches and frozen lemonade (a popular choice given the heat!).

Dog events and seminars were going on all day. We watched a bunch of them, but became a little disappointed that the dog handlers for the seminars claimed that their dogs were "very well-trained" but were using shock collars to get the dogs to listen to their commands. Contests could be entered by anyone who brought along Fido and included a long jump and a water retrival contest.

We had a wonderful time at the Game Fair! Even if you don't hunt or fish (like me), you'll have a great time! This is definitely a family-friendly event; kids will enjoy all of the contest and dog events.