The Dixie Deer Classic has been recognized
nationally as the Premier Trophy Whitetail Deer show in the country. It was the first
successful show of its kind, and lit the spark that has brush fired into similar shows all
across the nation. All available exhibit space is used to maximum advantage while keeping
large aisle spacing for crowd movement. The show is held annually the tenth weekend of the
year, usually the first weekend of March.
The Dixie Deer Classic is held at the spacious North Carolina State Fairgrounds in the Jim
Graham Building, Dorton Arena, and The Exposition Center. Located in the center of the
thriving Research Triangle Area of central North Carolina, the Fairgrounds are within easy
driving distance for more than a million people. There is a restaurant within the Jim
Graham Building, and snack bars in Dorton Arena and The Exposition Center. In addition,
snacks are sold at various locations throughout the show. No pets are permitted into the
show, and no smoking is allowed in the buildings. Weapons are not permitted, and the
consumption of alcoholic beverages is forbidden on the premises.
The Dixie Deer Classic is a FAMILY oriented event, and we try to offer something for
everyone. All youth under 13 have always been admitted free of charge and for the youth
aged 13 to 18 we offer a half price ticket on Friday for $5.00. There will special
programs all weekend for the young or beginning hunter, and fun stuff too, like face
painting, BB gun Turkey Shoot, Archery Alley, Retriever Demos. New for 2010 is the
addition of the NC State Turkey Calling Contest.For our visitors to remember the show
there is a FREE souvenir program distributed that contains articles and stories related to
the current show.
Building One is the Jim Graham Building a 100,000 square feet exhibit
hall that houses exhibitors from all venues of the hunting world and the Seminar Rooms.
Exhibitors are offering treestands, camouflage clothing, outfitting services from around
the world, archery accessories, shooting accessories, truck and auto accessories, wildlife
art, game calls, and much much more. There is a cafeteria style restaurant in this
building also.
Building Two is J.S. Dorton Arena; the 25,000 square foot arena floor
hosts our Gun Sales Venue and the Dixie Deer Classic 3-D Archery Tournament operated for
us by the NC Bowhunters Association. The gun sales venue is a Gun Show atmosphere with
Federally licensed dealers offering special deals on you your firearms needs. (The public
is not allowed to bring firearms into the Dixie Deer Classic for show or trade.)
Building Three is The Exposition Center; the 50,000 square foot exhibit
hall houses our deer head scoring operation and the "Bragging Board" displays of
the deer scored. We also have special deer head collections on display here as well as the
Top Head from North Carolina. This building also has Exhibitors not unlike Building One.
Building Four is the Kerr Scott Building: this 20,000 square foot
building will not be part of the primary show. On Thursday and Friday it will host the
Conservation Though Education Program for school children. You can find out more
information about this program under that heading. This building will also host the NC
National Wild Turkey Federation Banquet and Annual Awards Program on Friday evening, and
the NC Bowhunters annual Convention Banquet on Saturday evening.
Outside, in the courtyards between the buildings you will also find
many exhibitors and special displays, such as Retriever Demonstrations.
We try to offer something for everyone at the Dixie Deer Classic, and have always kept our
exhibitor list as diverse as possible. We try to vary our seminars from year to year and
seek out the most popular names in the hunting world.
We hope you enjoy this year's edition of the DIXIE DEER CLASSIC! |
