Are you new to prepping and survival? Perhaps you grew up on a farm and you think you know all there is to know about self-reliance and sustainability? Think again! Throughout the country, preparedness is taking a front seat and prepper events are being hosted to help you learn the basics or sharpen your skills.
Preparedness and safety expos are a family-friendly way to start from the beginning, increase your knowledge and skills, and encourage your loved ones to participate in survival exercises and strategies. Everyone can benefit from learning how to survive natural and man-made disasters. Many of these events are low-cost or free, and within their walls contain experts in the field of survival.
Below is a list of some of the upcoming survival and preparedness events and expos that are coming to a city near you! Many of them offer discounted tickets if purchased in advance, and some even offer free admission!
The Southern Preppers Convention and Green Living Expo
Friday – Sunday, September 5-7, 2014
Oxford, AL
Admission:
FREE
The Southern Preppers expo is a free 3-day event featuring guests from a variety of survival and preparedness backgrounds. Tom Martin, founder of the American Preppers Network (APN) will be there teaching about self-reliance and Darryl Patton, a Master Herbalist, will be conducting workshops throughout the weekend. Many other guests are lined up to teach courses and give seminars regarding sustainability, homesteading, and green living. Giveaways include two annual and two lifetime memberships to the APN and an in-home freeze dryer!
http://www.thesouthernpreppers.com/home.html
Mid-Atlantic Emergency Preparedness & Survival Expo
Saturday, August 16, 2014 – 9 am – 6 pm
Sunday, August 17, 2014 – 9 am – 5 pm
Washington County Agricultural Education Center
7313 Sharpsburg Pike
Boonsboro, MD 21713
Admission:
$7 per person per day
$5 Seniors 60+
Children under 12 FREE
This two day expo returns for its second year, featuring two days of back-to-basics exhibits, speakers, and demonstrations in a family-friendly atmosphere. Topics covered include beekeeping, water purification and storage, outdoor survival, and safety and security. Food will be sold by local vendors.
http://www.midatlanticsurvivalexpo.com/index.html
2014 Spokane Sustainable Preparedness Expo
Sunday, September 21, 2014 – 10 am – 6 pm
Spokane Valley Fair & Expo Center
404 N. Havana St
Spokane Valley, WA 99202
Featuring over 20 training sessions, the Spokane Sustainable Preparedness Expo has something for everyone, covering preparedness, sustainable living, and homesteading. Courses range in topic, including sessions entitled Herbs and Alternative Medicine, Alternative Energy Sources, Emergency Communications, and Disaster Preparedness. Door prizes and coupons will be offered for attendees as well!
http://www.sustainablepreparedness.com/index.php/expo/20-spokane-2014
Wisconsin Prepper & Survival Expo
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Player’s Choice Expo Arena
W3035 Edgewood Trail
Appleton, Wisconsin 54913
Are you prepared to evacuate your home with little notice? What if you had to stay quarantined inside of your home for weeks? Attend Wisconsin’s largest survival and prepper event and you can learn to be ready for any natural or man-made disaster. Free presentations will feature experts in survival and preparedness, including authors Jim Cobb (Prepper’s Home Defense, The Prepper’s Complete Book of Disaster Readiness, and Prepper’s Long-Term Survival Guide), Charley Hogwood (MAGS: The People Part of Prepping) and Sam Thayer (The Forager’s Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting and Preparing Edible Wild Plants). Click here for a list of the best survival books you should read. The expo will also feature a wide range of classes, workshops, and demonstrations covering bug out supplies and bags, camping equipment, foraging for wild plants, pet care preparedness, situational awareness, wind and water power, and so much more! This one day event truly has something for everyone of every skill level.
http://www.healthylivingevents.com/prepper-details
PrepperFest AZ
Saturday – October 25, 2014 9 am to 6 pm
Sunday – October 26, 2014 9 am to 4 pm
Tony Nelssen Equestrian Center at WestWorld
16601 N. Pima
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
Admission:
$10 in advance, $12 at the door.
A weekend pass can be purchased for $16 in advance, or $20 at the door.
Children under 12 FREE
The lineup for PrepperFest AZ Fall 2014 is not set in stone yet, however if past expos are any indication, it will be well worth the while of any prepper or survivalist, experienced or new to the world of prepping. In March 2014, PrepperFest AZ hosted an expo featuring famous survival authors, practitioners, and safety officials, and you should expect nothing less from the Fall 2014 installment of the expo. Exhibitors and vendors will provide training, demonstrations, and sales of military surplus items, personal defense kits, and solar systems. Bring the whole family for an educational and fun experience!
Self-Reliance Expo
Friday & Saturday, Nov 7-8, 2014
National Western Complex, Denver Colorado
4655 Humboldt St
Denver, CO 80216
Admission:
$10 for one day pass
$15 for two day pass
Started in 2010, the Self-Reliance Expo aims to help people build their knowledge and skills by bringing valuable classes, experienced speakers, and the best vendors in the industry. Classes range from injury training courses to solar cooking. Stay up-to-date on this year’s classes and speakers by visiting the Self-Reliance Expo website.
http://www.selfrelianceexpo.com/events/nov-7-8-2014-national-western-complex-denver-colorado/
Some of these events have not yet listed times, addresses, or admission costs. Please refer to their websites at a later date for further details.
1 comments
Hello Kacey:
As to the sentence in your article: “Perhaps you grew up on a farm and you think you know all there is to know about self-reliance and sustainability?” …
I grew up on a working ranch and most of my friends were farmers and ranchers (mountain valley of Southern Oregon)… many of us were also involved in the FFA… I don’t think anyone I knew/know thinks they know all there is to know… having said that however, and from my chair, I think that unlike most ‘Preppers’ and others living in the cities, most ranchers and farmers are very well situated in the event of any failure of the infrastructure. You have mentioned a class of Americans who are for all practical intents and purposes, more prepared than most of the Preppers you might meet at one of the Expos you mentioned.
Maybe you aren’t fully aware of the range of skills that working farmers and ranchers employ on a daily-weekly basis? Most people would be quite surprised by a ‘day in the life of a rancher’. I can tell you that it’s not what you might think!
Such a day might involve milking the cow by hand, building/repairing a fence line, tracking and killing a deer for extra meat, butchering a dozen chickens, rounding-up a herd of sheep to castrate and dock the lambs, dealing with manure and composting, welding a crack on a dozer blade, working in the garden, repairing/servicing the tractor engine, replacing the foot-valve on a well, falling a tree and bucking it up into logs for the mill, sharpening tools (knives, hoes, chainsaw, axes, etc.), rounding-up and saddling the horses, delivering a calf being born breached, suturing a cow that got into the barb-wire, etc… etc.. the range of skills that most ranchers and farmers possess is impressive by any standards…. About once a month, we’d take our horses deep into the mountains and set-up camp, and fish for trout at the high lakes or hunt large game for several days, including deer, bear and mountain lions…
My advice is that if people are serious and really want to learn about sustainable living (and that won’t be anywhere near a city), find a summer job on a working ranch or farm! It’s hard work, but those are the core skills that really matter… IMHO
Cheers! Capt. Bill