The event attracts tens of thousands of visitors — many of them union members. This year\'s 27th annual Game Fair will run Friday through Sunday, Aug. 8-10, and Aug. 15-17, nestled in the woods and water of Armstrong Kennel Ranch in Anoka County.
The event offers more than 300 exhibitors, seminars, and participatory activities for kids and adults.
The Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, together with local unions, will host a booth at Game Fair offering free give-aways for union members and a chance to win one of three union-made shotguns.
This year marks the fourth year in a row for the labor presence at Game Fair, part of the outreach work of the MRLF\'s North Suburban Advisory Council.
One volunteer at the labor booth will be Blaine resident Jeff Lange, a delegate to the North Suburban Advisory Council from IBEW Local 292. "I\'ve been out there since the first year," he said. "I enjoy it immensely."
"It\'s a lot of talking to people and letting them know labor is out there with the sportsmen." He emphasized: "A lot of the people out there are union people."
Lange is a deer hunter and turkey hunter. At Game Fair, he\'s in good company.
"You run into some like-minded people out there and you get into some good conversations."
Plus, he said, "all of the guys who go out to work the booth are sportsmen in one form or another."
During an election year at Game Fair, booths for political candidates can be found among booths for fishing lodges or firearms dealers.
In years past, however, union visitors to Game Fair would find booths for the Republican Party candidates but not for labor-endorsed candidates.
Part of the goal of the union booth at Game Fair is to give labor-endorsed candidates a place to meet union members and other voters.
"The Republicans can\'t stake their claim on the Second Amendment," Lange said. "A lot of our people care about it, too."
One Game Fair perk for Lange: each year he has helped to pick out the union-made shotguns for the drawing at the labor booth.
"We try to get a field grade shotgun, a camouflage duck gun, and a turkey gun," he promised.
As the Labor Review went to press, unions supporting the MRLF Game Fair booth included: Bricklayers and Allied Craft-workers Local Union 1 Minnesota/ North Dakota, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 292, International Union of Operating Engineers Local 70, and SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, Local 113.
For more information about the MRLF Game Fair booth, or to volunteer for a shift at the booth, contact Anna Brelje at 612-379-4206 ext. 102.
Steve Share edits the Labor Review, the official publication of the MInneapolis Regional Labor Federation. Visit the federation\'s website, www.minneapolisunions.org
For more information
For Game Fair information and directions: www.gamefair.com
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The event attracts tens of thousands of visitors — many of them union members. This year\’s 27th annual Game Fair will run Friday through Sunday, Aug. 8-10, and Aug. 15-17, nestled in the woods and water of Armstrong Kennel Ranch in Anoka County.
The event offers more than 300 exhibitors, seminars, and participatory activities for kids and adults.
The Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, together with local unions, will host a booth at Game Fair offering free give-aways for union members and a chance to win one of three union-made shotguns.
This year marks the fourth year in a row for the labor presence at Game Fair, part of the outreach work of the MRLF\’s North Suburban Advisory Council.
One volunteer at the labor booth will be Blaine resident Jeff Lange, a delegate to the North Suburban Advisory Council from IBEW Local 292. "I\’ve been out there since the first year," he said. "I enjoy it immensely."
"It\’s a lot of talking to people and letting them know labor is out there with the sportsmen." He emphasized: "A lot of the people out there are union people."
Lange is a deer hunter and turkey hunter. At Game Fair, he\’s in good company.
"You run into some like-minded people out there and you get into some good conversations."
Plus, he said, "all of the guys who go out to work the booth are sportsmen in one form or another."
During an election year at Game Fair, booths for political candidates can be found among booths for fishing lodges or firearms dealers.
In years past, however, union visitors to Game Fair would find booths for the Republican Party candidates but not for labor-endorsed candidates.
Part of the goal of the union booth at Game Fair is to give labor-endorsed candidates a place to meet union members and other voters.
"The Republicans can\’t stake their claim on the Second Amendment," Lange said. "A lot of our people care about it, too."
One Game Fair perk for Lange: each year he has helped to pick out the union-made shotguns for the drawing at the labor booth.
"We try to get a field grade shotgun, a camouflage duck gun, and a turkey gun," he promised.
As the Labor Review went to press, unions supporting the MRLF Game Fair booth included: Bricklayers and Allied Craft-workers Local Union 1 Minnesota/ North Dakota, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 292, International Union of Operating Engineers Local 70, and SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, Local 113.
For more information about the MRLF Game Fair booth, or to volunteer for a shift at the booth, contact Anna Brelje at 612-379-4206 ext. 102.
Steve Share edits the Labor Review, the official publication of the MInneapolis Regional Labor Federation. Visit the federation\’s website, www.minneapolisunions.org
For more information
For Game Fair information and directions: www.gamefair.com