The name is Outdoor Days. Hosting about 100 surf and outdoor-related companies and targeting mainly consumers, the new fair will take place on May 23-25 at Riva del Garda, on the northern shore of the big Italian lake by the same name. The organizers hope to attract some 20,000-30,000 visitors from the northern part of Italy and from Germany.
The show is timed to coincide with Corpus Domini, an extended holiday weekend when some 30,000 German tourists descend every year across the Alps throughout the region, looking for sunshine and diversion. It is being widely promoted also among outdoor enthusiasts throughout northern Italy.
The Outdoor Days will also coincide with the former Surf Festival, organized by a windsurfing club at nearby Torbole on Lake Garda for 10 years until 2006, attracting up to 20,000 visitors each time. The festival was suspended in 2007. The club has handed over its management to Riva del Garda Fierecongressi, which organizes several other shows in the areas of footwear, fishing, hunting, natural parks, hotel fixtures, automobiles and electronics. The best known event is Expo Riva Schuh, the world’s leading shoe show for the mass market, grouping more than 1,000 companies twice a year.
The new show is supported by Assosport, the Italian sporting goods industry association, and by the Italian Outdoor Group. Outdoor specialists such as Asolo, Dolomite, Ferrino, La Sportiva and Salewa will participate along with surfwear specialists such as Quiksilver. There will also be exhibitors from Poland and other foreign countries.
Companies will take advantage of the local surroundings to demonstrate new equipment, clothing and footwear in seven dedicated test areas. While Lake Garda remains a primary spot for windsurfing because of its periodic winds, the region is full of rock climbing walls, canyoning descents, hiking trails and mountain biking paths. Special contests and other events are planned for windsurfing, trail running, mountain biking and skytriathlon – a new type of triathlon (more under www.outdoordays.it).
