51st Big Horn outdoor show starts Thursday

It started 51 years ago with a group of hunters gathering in a room to ogle at mounts of their recently harvested trophy big-game.

Since then, the Inland Empire Big-Game Council has become the Inland Northwest Wildlife Council, and the sportsman-oriented show the group founded has expanded into a huge, locally produced, family-oriented event.

The Big Horn Outdoor Adventure Show, which will take over the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center Thursday-Sunday, will include roughly 250 hunting, fishing and recreation vendors and groups.

This year’s stage attractions include frequent 30-minute performances by Great Cats World Park along with the popular air-rifle and archery target-shooting ranges and fishing ponds for kids.

New this year, helicopter tours will be offered from the fairgrounds: $40 a person for a 10-minute ride each day of the show until dark.

The wildlife council works all year on this show to raise money for hunter education, habitat and wildlife conservation programs, officers say.