The four-day show gets underway on Thursday in West Springfield
The acres of RV's on display at a past Springfield RV Camping & Outdoor Show at the Eastern States Exposition grounds in West Springfield.It’s still too cold to really enjoy camping at its best.
But, if you have fun sitting around a campfire with family and friends and spending time in the great outdoors hiking, fishing, rock climbing, or site seeing, then this weekend’s 50th annual Springfield RV Camping and Outdoor Show may be the next best thing.
“Camping is still a very popular activity today and dovetails with so many other activities. You can bring all the comforts of home with you and use the campground as your base point to see and experiences the different things that so many regions offer in different parts of the country,” said show chairman Angelo Zeni.
“We’ve been camping for 22 years now as a family and we have two kids who are 20 and 21, and they still come camping with us and look forward to enjoying the different experiences that it has to offer,” he added.
The popular show, which opens Friday for four days on the grounds of the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, attracted some 37,000 attendees last year. It has grown over the years to become the longest- running shows of its kind in New England, and is geared for anyone starting in camping, looking to upgrade, or for anyone who just wants to see what is new on the market.
Visitors will find exhibits by many major RV dealers who offer a wide range of equipment from basic pop-up tent trailers to luxury RVs, as well as campgrounds and dozens of outdoor equipment and camping specialty suppliers – over 200 exhibitors in several buildings on the fairgrounds.
“Campgrounds today are getting more family-oriented. They’re not just selling space, but offering activities and amenities. You’ll find Christmas in July celebrations at some camps and pot luck dinners, as well as some bringing in bands to perform and offering everything from pools to game rooms and even Wi-Fi,” said Zeni.
Travel Town Trailers of Southwick, one of the many RV dealers attending this weekend’s show, has been with the event since its inception. A family-owned business since 1962, the company has its own niche in the RV industry selling “park” models.
“We don’t go to a lot of shows, but this is one of the best. It’s all done with volunteers who are members of a campground association,” said owner David Spillane.“We’ve been through all the cycles, the ups and downs of the RV industry, and without a doubt, we have been seeing an upswing in the past few years. People are always going to have leisure time, and they may give up some other things, but they’re always going to want to enjoy their vacation whether its RVing or participating in other recreational sports,” said Spillane.
Park models are high-end travel trailers, often referred to by some as “vacation homes” or “cottages,” that are placed for the season in an RV park or resort campground.
“What we are selling are recreational park trailers for destination camping that look like actual homes,” said Spillane.
“We deliver these trailers to where the buyer wants them. Then, as part of destination camping, they leave their home on Friday in their own car, which is more economical, and usually travel one or two hours away, only to return home on Sunday,” he added.
Featuring all the comforts of home, buyers can purchased their dream getaway vinyl-sided “park model home” equipped with every amenity such as central air conditioning and vacuuming, large screen television and surround sound, comfortable reclining rockers, king size beds, sectional sofas, electric fireplaces, and much more.
Since RVing is a family affair, there will be plenty of entertainment throughout the weekend geared for all ages including Yo Yo Man, Shriners clowns, wildlife shows on birds of prey and wolves, and other animals up close.
Visitors can also attend seminars on RV safety and maintenance.
And, in honor of the 50th annual show, organizers will be awarding a grand prize of $5,000 to some lucky attendee who deposits their admission ticket in the prize area in Mallary Arena.
For the past 50 years, the show has been produced by volunteer members of Pioneer Valley Chapter 8 (PV8) of the North American Family Campers Association (NAFCA).