Late summer of 2014, Carlisle Productions held an "outdoors-oriented" flea market at the Fair grounds where they've been staging collector car shows for decades. That was due to the previous February's Outdoors show at the Harrisburg Farm Show complex being cancelled.They sensed there was a need for a such show, just held it too early. A fall show might've worked better? Didn't fit their car show schedules.
Following the Dec. 2013 CT school shooting, the promoter of the Harrisburg Outdoors Show faced a huge vendor "mutiny" over their decision to ban all "black rifles" and related gear. So they canceled the 2014 show. The next year NRA took over that nine day show in February and it continues, although this year's show was canceled due to the Corona virus restrictions.
The first Carlisle weekend outdoor show was pretty well attended by vendors, but didn't attract enough paying customers to keep it going. Same weekend they had the show on the fairgrounds, there was an indoor gun show across the road at the Expo Center.
Vendors at the Fairgrounds were charging crazy prices for ammo and ARs. Saw 22LR Auto Match going for $30 to $40. ARs as high as $1,000 for common variants, mostly used ones. Meanwhile across the road at the Expo Center, Auto Match was $18. Two dealers had stacks of NIB Bushmaster and DPMS ARs starting at $699, IIRC?.
Not the first time I've seen insane prices for ammo and firearms, won't be the last.
