The Great Waters Fly Fishing Expo promotes the sport and adventure of fly fishing and the interests of its exhibitors. Promotion of our Expo is on-going in Midwest Fly Fishing magazine and on this website. In addition, we stay in touch regularly with potential attendees through a unique and growing Expo electronic newsletter; currently we have more than 6,500 subscribers. As both Expos near, we advertise intensely and reach out geographically and philosophically to those who have yet to experience our sport.

We believe that our Expos belong in very real ways to our exhibitors and to our guests, the attendees, as much as they belong to us. We are dedicated to ensuring that your expectations and the expectations of our guests are met.

At this station on our website, you can read and download 2009 exhibitor contracts for the Chicago and Minneapolis shows. We’ll follow up with a letter of acknowledgment and more information. In a short time, we will add exhibit hall diagrams.

The Great Waters Expo, sponsored by Midwest Fly Fishing magazine, will be held in Chicago at the Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center in Schaumburg, Ill., Feb. 20-22, 2009, and at the Sheraton Bloomington Minneapolis South Hotel March 6-8, 2009. Both hotels have unlimited free parking and are located conveniently with quick access to primary roadways. Both hotels also are well run and extremely comfortable.

Booth assignments will be made on a first-come, first-served basis, with priority given to those who exhibited with us in 2007. To register, send a signed contract to us and include payment for 50 percent of your total space cost. Once you’ve registered, you will receive communication, including forms that address electrical, shipping and material-handling needs, from the decorating service for your event. We encourage you to stay at our host hotels. We have negotiated good rates and know that you will find your stays convenient.

The Chicago and Minneapolis areas are wonderful show sites. The population of Cook County, Illinois, alone is just under five and a half million with a median family income of $53,784, according to the last census. The draw of our fly-fishing show there of course goes far beyond Cook Country. The population of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul and surrounding suburbs is approximately two million and the show-goers there have proven to be a loyal, outdoor-oriented and interested group of anglers with an appetite for travel.

We anticipate large turnouts in 2009in Chicago and Minneapolis and we look forward to your participation. Please e-mail me at mwfly@mwfly.com or call me anytime at 952.920.9028if you have questions.

Tom Helgeson
Editor/Publisher
Midwest Fly Fishing magazine        Owner, Great Waters Fly Fishing Expo