ST PAUL, Minn. — "This was a pretty short turn time to get a show going," said Darren Mann, show promoter and owner of RV World.
It would've been the 53rd annual Sportmen's Show in downtown St. Paul, where Mann has been a vendor since 1997.
"We've been doing that sports show for as long as we've been in business," said Mann.
But this year, Mann and his team are paving the way to something new.
An RV Supershow.
"Myself and my general manager Kevin, we decided to pick up the ball and run with it," explained Mann.
After Barry Cenaiko and his team of organizers with the original sportsmen's show decided to call it quits.
"He was very helpful in helping us get up and running," said Mann.
A recently deleted Facebook post from Cenaiko cited concerns with crime in downtown St. Paul, saying some would choose not to attend out of fear.
"We've all done shows in the cities for years and it's never been an issue," said Mann.
It's a hazy issue for Mann which boils down to perception versus reality.
"We all had to deal with adversity over the last few years and that's the great thing about being humans is we can adapt to whatever we need to in order to survive."
Mann went on to explain, "People still go to work, people still go out and have fun, they still go to dinner, they still do their stuff. We still want to keep it family-friendly, and we want to keep it fun for everybody."
The RV show at the River Centre runs from Thursday through Sunday, admission is free and organizers say there will be special giveaways on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Organizers of the Sportsmen's Show say they still plan to host events in St. Cloud, Fargo and Sioux Falls.
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