By By Penny Randall / staff writer
Aug. 15, 2003
The Frank Cochran Center in Highland Park will be transformed today into a sportsman's paradise as The Meridian Star's 2003 Outdoor Expo opens.
Booths filled with everything from turkey calls to perfect fishing lures will be on display.
But the biggest draw of the Outdoor Expo is the 5,000-gallon Bass Tub stocked with live crappie, perch, white bass and catfish.
The 9-foot-tall aquarium will provide opportunities to observe casting demonstrations, how lures work in the water and techniques for catching various fish. The aquarium is visible from both sides and is complete with rocks, stumps and things normally found in a lake.
Seven 20-minute demonstrations featuring the giant mobile aquarium will be presented during the three-day expo.
Another presentation not to miss will be reptile and amphibian expert Terry Vandeventer, former director of the Jackson Zoo's Reptile Department.
He currently serves as a field associate in herpetology with the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science and regularly guides natural history expeditions to the Amazon rain forest of Peru.
Vandeventer will present shows at 6 p.m. on Friday, 3 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Outdoorsmen will also get a chance to see Aubrey Cox's big buck. Cox, of Carthage, is the winner of The Star's Buck Bounty Contest. His buck scored 171 3/8 on the Buckmaster's Composite Scale.
For the younger set, there will be a Kids Casting Contest from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday.
The contest is free and awards will be given in two divisions: ages 10 and under and ages 11-15. The first 50 kids to register will receive a free bait pack.
Want to go?
The Meridian Star's Outdoor Expo is this weekend at the Frank Cochran Center in Highland Park. The expo's hours are: Friday from 3 p.m.-8 p.m.; Saturday from 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; and Sunday from noon-5 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults; $3 for children ages 7-12; and free for age 6 and under.
Friday
4 p.m.: Bass Tub demonstration
6 p.m.: Terry Vandeventer/"Snakes of Mississippi"
7 p.m.: Bass Tub demonstration
Saturday
10 a.m.: Bass Tub demonstration
Noon: Bass Tub demonstration
1 p.m.: NWTF's Gary Barber/"Basics of Turkey Hunting"
2 p.m.: Bass Tub demonstration
3 p.m.: Terry Vandeventer/"Snakes of Mississippi"
4 p.m.: Bass Tub demonstration
Sunday
Noon: Bass Tub demonstration
2 p.m.: Terry Vandeventer/"Snakes of
Mississippi"
3 p.m.: Bass Tub demonstration