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The latest and greatest in boating, fishing and recreational vehicles will be on display this weekend at the Houma Terrebonne Civic Center.
“This is one of the largest and most respected RV, boat and sport shows along the Gulf Coast,” said Bart Caple, producer of the annual Southern Louisiana Boat, Sport and RV Show. “We fill the entire Civic Center and expand outdoors with another 100,000 square feet of recreational vehicles on display. The three day event is a great opportunity to talk one-on-one with industry experts and see hundreds of the latest products.”
The event will be open from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 4; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday; and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission for adults is $7, and children ages six to 15 years is $2. Children six and under are free.
This is the show’s 15th year in Houma, and the exhibition will have something for everyone, from weekend boaters to anglers and hunters. There will be more than 50 brands of the latest boats and RVs on display, and there will also be booths for ATVs, golf carts, personal watercraft, campground and resort information, fishing tackle and more.
“It’s a great place to see all the new products for 2013,” Caple said. “More than 40 national and local brand names in the boating business will be there, along with campers and RVs (with prices) ranging from $300,000 to $1 million. Travel trailers and toy haulers are also becoming quite popular at the shows.”
Caple estimates that the three-day show draws about 6,000 to 7,000 people, and many of those are coming in to look at boats.
“We get a lot of sales for pleasure boats, but most people are coming in to look at the fishing boats,” he said.
Boat brands like Chapparral, Robalo, Everglades, Skeeter, Carolina Skiff, Blue Wave, G3, Excel, Sea Chaser and Alumacraft will be on display at the event.
In addition to all the new gear, the show will also feature the world’s largest mobile aquarium, where fishing clinics will be hosted by nationally recognized experts, and the World’s Outstanding Whitetails collection.
For the little ones – family night is Friday night and children 12 and younger will be admitted free – there will be the indoor Fish-O-Rama Trout Pond, and children will get to fish once for free.
“It’s a great family outing,” Caple said.
Several local sports and outdoor businesses will be at the show, including the staff of Performance Powersports in Houma.
“We’ll be bringing ATVs, motorcycles, side by sides and generators,” said general manager and owner John Soileau, who has attended the event for the last six years. “Every year is different, as far as what sells the most, but motor scooters, off-road ATVs and side by sides have been selling well lately. We make about a dozen sales at the show.”
Southern Outdoors and Marine in Thibodaux will be returning to the show after a six-year hiatus.
“We haven’t been to the show in several years, ever since the economy slowed, but we’re ready to go back and see if the buyers are out there,” said co-owner Juanita Thibodaux
The business carries almost 20 lines of boats, from pontoon and aluminum boats to fiberglass and bay boats, and there will be about 40 boats on display at the company’s booth.
“In the past, we sold lots of bay boats and aluminum boats, popular for hunting and the upcoming crawfish season, bay boats and Carolina Skiffs,” Thibodaux said. “We’ll be slashing prices for the show, and several of the boat manufacturers are offering incentives. Lots of factory reps will be there, and guides, who spend their days in these boats, will be there to talk to customers about the boats.”
Thibodaux said Southern Outdoors and Marine usually sells about 20 boats at trade shows like the Southern Louisiana Boat, Sport and RV Show.
Campers and RVs anging from $300,000 to $1 million will be on display at the Southern Louisiana Boat, Sport and RV Show at the Houma Terrebonne Civic Center from Jan. 4-6
