On target

Archer Gordie Soloway says for him shooting a bow and arrow is an addiction.

The 55-year-old city transit operator first joined the Lakehead Archers Inc. about six years ago. He joined because his wife, Laurie would often take their granddaughter, Natasha Gray, to archery lessons and he decided try it for himself. Since then, archery has become a big part of his life, he said.

"It was something I always wanted to try," Soloway said. "The challenge is competing against yourself but also other individuals. It gets addicting after a while. I just try to shoot the centre out of that target. It’s all you and the centre…you can’t have anything else going on in your head."

When he strings his bow and looks towards at the target, he clears his mind of distractions, forgets the previous conversations, pushes out the noise and lets the arrow fly, he said.

Soloway and 17 other members plan to head to Minneapolis, Minn. in April for an archery competition. He said Americans take the competition more seriously than Canadians do. Soloway came in ninth place last year at the competition and hoped to improve this year, he said.

But for beginner archers they just need to follow Soloway’s advice – be patient and keep shooting.

Laurie, the treasurer for Lakehead Archers Inc., said she isn’t at the skill level like her husband but understood the allure of the bow and arrow had.

She and her husband helped give some pointers to interested participants at the seventh annual Central Canada Outdoor Show on Sunday. The weekend long show, that started on Friday, had more than 1,000 residents come through to the door at the Sports Dome with more than 100 local and regional exhibitors on display.

Laurie said Lakehead Archers first became involved with the Outdoor Show about five years ago. The members had such a good time that they wanted to come back again the follow year, she said.

"We have been known to be one of Thunder Bay’s best kept secrets," Laurie said. "I’m not sure why we’re a secret but we’re trying to make that go away. We’re very family oriented. We don’t offer babysitter services per ce but we sure like to make it a family oriented thing."

Nancy Milani, manager at the Outdoor Show, said the weekend had been crazy and expect more than 15,000 people by the end of the Sunday. After seven years, the Outdoor show has lasted that long because it is something the whole family can enjoy, she said.

"There’s something for all ages," Milani said. "There are a lot of interactive activities for kids and you can spend many, many hours with many, many things to see and do."

But the core of the expo is to showcase the regional and local businesses and the show is for anyone who appreciates Thunder Bay and its region or simply likes the outdoors, she said.
Resident who attended the show said that the main attraction for them was supporting local businesses.

Julie Sequin came to the show with her husband, Paul and wanted to see what the local suppliers had to offer. She said they had come every year that the show has run.

"It helps boost the local economy, helps local business and keeps our dollars here," Sequin said.

Kyle Hakala also attended the Outdoor Show with his 10-year-old-son Matthew. He also agreed that the Outdoor Show helped the local economy.