THUNDER BAY -- For 27 years Gear Up For Outdoors has held their annual spring tent sale outside.
Score one for Mother Nature this year.
The retailer moved the 28th edition of the event to the Lakehead University Hangar after it became apparent in March there would be too much snow.
“I’ve never seen so much snow. A month ago we were standing at Baseball Central and the snow was up to our waists,” said general manager Jon Wynn.
“We live where we live but we can’t control the weather. I never would have figured after 28 years we would have moved inside and it was the last thing our staff wanted to do.”
That decision was validated after the city received more than 20 centimetres of snow on Friday.
But now that they have done the event indoors, it might be the way the event will proceed in the future.
Merchandise is easier to set up and move on the indoor surface, they don’t have to worry about wet and muddy ground and there is no wind.
Wynn said the indoor environment was more inviting to families with children and the dry field allows staff a greater opportunity to showcase products.
They held their footwear demo on Saturday and allowed people to test the shoes out by going for a run on the track.
He estimates more than 1,000 people visited the Hangar over the course of the three-day show.
