Mayville Sportsman Show in May
Mayville Sportsman Show in May
Expo to Honor Local Veterans and First Responders
MAYVILLE - Veterans and first responders will be honored with free admission at the upcoming Spring Sportsman & Gun Show on Saturday, May 6 from 9:00am-5:00pm and Sunday, May 7 from 9:00am-3:00pm at Chautauqua Suites in Mayville, NY. General admission to this family-friendly expo is just $5, with free admission to kids 17 and under accompanied by an adult.
The two-day expo will feature several educational seminars taught by local professionals. Seminar topics will include fly tying, walleye fishing tactics, turkey hunting and calls, fly fishing casting techniques, and firearm use of rifles, shotguns and pistols.
A broad range of sportsman’s exhibitors and vendors will feature special show pricing. Vendors and items include guns and ammo, outdoor recreational gear, hunting and fishing clothing and boots, power sports vehicles, archery, collectible vintage sporting goods, turkey calls, fishing guides, land management, pistol courses, food vendors, decoys, outdoor power equipment, holsters, gun smithing, waterfowl conservation, and more.
Breakfast and lunch specials will be available at Chautauqua Suites during the show.
A portion of the expo proceeds will benefit local veterans group, the Joseph P. Dwyer Program. There will be several opportunities for attendees to make additional donations to this organization during the expo.
Joseph P. Dwyer was an Army medic who returned home from Iraq with a brain injury and post-traumatic stress. He opted to self-medicate to cope with his emotional and physical pain, ultimately resulting in the loss of his life. In 2013, the Joseph Dwyer Peer Suicide Prevention Program was born out of this tragedy through the requests of his parents to the NY state legislature.
The Dwyer Program is designed to be a non-clinical peer support program with the goal of introducing veterans to others in the area for friendship and camaraderie in a variety of ways, depending on the veteran’s interests and physical limitations. In Chautauqua County, the program offers activities such as a Monday morning coffee hour for Vietnam vets, a weekly Dungeons and Dragons group, and special events and outings for families, female veterans and spouses, and widows of veterans.
By providing opportunities for our heroes to connect with other veterans, the Dwyer program helps them recover some of the familiarity and camaraderie of military life. One of the Monday morning coffee participants stated, “If I didn’t have your coffee hour to come to on Mondays, I would probably still be in my chair on Wednesday.”
In the last six years, the program has grown to include 300 veterans from age 22 to 85 from each branch of the service.
Veterans of any age are encouraged to join the program. There is no cost or paperwork required to participate, discharge status does not come into play, and a PTSD diagnosis is not required. Donations to the Dwyer program can be mailed to Chautauqua County Mental Hygiene, Attn. Paul Meyers, 2 Academy Street, Mayville, NY 14757.
For more information about the Dwyer program, visit http://dwyerchautauqua.com or find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/DwyerChautauqua. For more information on the Spring Sportsman & Gun Show, please call Chautauqua Suites at 716-269-7829. Expo sponsorship opportunities and additional vendor spaces are available. Chautauqua Suites is located at 215 West Lake Road, Mayville, NY 14757.