Outdoor News and Events
Hooked Village Tour Hits the Road in 2005
By Hooked Staff
Jan 20, 2005, 15:44

BOULDER, CO  (January 18, 2005) –The leading outdoor industry mobile marketing tour and the first of its kind, the Hooked Village Tour will move into its fourth year in 2005. Featuring 30 high-energy events, the Tour continues to play the dual roles of participation center and enthusiast festival.

Produced by ADventure LLC, publisher of Hooked on the Outdoors magazine, the Tour starts January 25 at the Snowsports Industries America (SIA) trade show in Las Vegas. It will run through the first weekend of December 2005, when it concludes at the Tucson Marathon—a Boston Marathon qualifier. The Tour is held in conjunction with high-profile outdoor events, competitions and festivals across the nation, from the Sea Otter Classic and Wildflower Triathlon in Monterey, CA in April to the Bele Chere Festival in Asheville, NC in July (see attached schedule).

Approximately four million consumers are expected to participate in the Tour in 2005 as the emphasis on outdoor recreation continues to grow in the United States. In 2004, more than 2.3 million consumers participated on the Hooked Village Tour. 

“The Tour gives consumers a welcoming, interactive place to gather and experience the great outdoors, as well as the latest and greatest in outdoor gear by way of our sponsors’ products,” explains Shawn Buckley, tour director.  Attendees of the Hooked Village Tour also have the opportunity to win great prizes, and always go home with a goodie bag with various product samples and the latest issue of Hooked on the Outdoors magazine.

The Hooked Village Tour consists of a central 50 x 20 exhibit, with a specially designed truck and trailer display, demonstrating sponsors’ products and providing outdoor enthusiasts with a hands-on experience. Some of the special activities planned for various Hooked Village Tour stops range from the “Fend for Yourself Challenge” push up/pull up competition sponsored by Gerber, to an event-by event shoe give away sponsored by Merrell Footwear.  Winners receive various prizes donated by sponsors.

Tour sponsors for 2005 include Spenco Medical Corporation, manufacturer of footbeds; exponent sleeping bags and day packs by the Coleman Company; Cequent Towing Products, giving vehicles more storage; Gerber Legendary Blades, makers of legendary knives and tools; Oh Boy! Oberto beef jerky; Johnson Outdoors, manufacturer of Eureka! Tents; Lowrance GPS systems; W.L. Gore & Associates fabric technology; and Merrell Footwear, a division of Wolverine Worldwide.

The Hooked Village Tour began with Tour organizers attending a variety of local events in the Southeast and Rockies with only a six-foot table and a dream. Just four years later, the Hooked Village Tour has become the pre-eminent national road show in the outdoor industry.

For more information on the Tour, companies can contact Shawn Buckley at (770) 396-4320. Editors may contact On the Horizon Communications at (805) 773-1000 or email holly@thepressroom.com.