Lions' gun and knife show set for weekend

J.M. Harbet sets up one of over 110 vendor booths at the Hot Springs Convention Center in preparation for the South Hot Springs Lions Club semiannual gun and knife show on Jan. 19, 2018. - File photo by Richard Rasmussen of The Sentinel-Record
J.M. Harbet sets up one of over 110 vendor booths at the Hot Springs Convention Center in preparation for the South Hot Springs Lions Club semiannual gun and knife show on Jan. 19, 2018. - File photo by Richard Rasmussen of The Sentinel-Record

The South Hot Springs Lions Club's semiannual gun and knife show returns to the Hot Springs Convention Center Saturday and Sunday, and with around 120 vendors participating, the event is expected to draw about 2,500 people.

Since 1985, the show has been held in January and July, raising money to benefit a number of charities, and help people with eyesight problems. Steve Yach, gun show chairman, said "100% of our profits go towards charity."

The Sentinel-Record/Richard Rasmussen GUN SHOW RETURNS: Steve Yach, chairman of the South Hot Springs Lions Club's semiannual gun and knife show, oversees the setting up of tables at the Hot Springs Convention Center Thursday morning. Around 120 vendors are expected for the show which begins at 9 a.m. Saturday and continues through Sunday.
The Sentinel-Record/Richard Rasmussen GUN SHOW RETURNS: Steve Yach, chairman of the South Hot Springs Lions Club's semiannual gun and knife show, oversees the setting up of tables at the Hot Springs Convention Center Thursday morning. Around 120 vendors are expected for the show which begins at 9 a.m. Saturday and continues through Sunday.

There will be numerous kinds of guns for sale, Yach said, noting roughly 92% of the tables will be gun or knife related. The remaining tables will have other things such as jewelry, fragrances, pecans and roasted nuts.

The show is changing, he said, with fewer vendors from Arkansas than in the past. Eight other states will be represented this year, including Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia.

"We're getting people from further away. I'm surprised that people from Indiana even know about us," Yach said.

There will be 380 tables this year and 113 of them are reserved for vendors who have never participated in the show before, he said.

One person returning is R.W. Wilson, a knife maker who created the tomahawks for the movie "Jeremiah Johnson."

Yach said charities the profits will benefit include Arkansas Sheriffs' Youth Ranches, Boys State, The Caring Place, Cooperative Christian Ministries and Clinic, Garland County Historical Society, Girls State, Habitat for Humanity, The Hospice Promise Foundation, Jackson House, Jones Eye Institute, Leader Dogs, Lions Magazine, National Park Nurse Scholarship, Potter's Clay, Ouachita Children, Youth & Family Services, Project HOPE Food Bank, Samaritan Ministries, The Salvation Army, World Services for the Blind, Arkansas Lions Eye Bank and Lab, Mid-South Lions Sight and Hearing and Lions Club International Foundation.

Money will also be used to help people who can't afford glasses, he said, noting, "If people can't afford glass, we will pay for an eye exam and we will pay for glasses." He said they will also help out if someone suffers an eye injury they can't afford to cover.

The show will have around $3,000 worth of raffle prizes donated by local businesses. "It's amazing how generous people are," Yach said, noting it is "overwhelming" how people and organizations have stepped up to help.

Raffle prizes include meals from Stubby's BBQ, Subway, Buffalo Wild Wings, Salsa's Authentic Mexican Restaurant and Cantina, Zaxby's and Starbucks. The grand prize raffle will be a knife called "Lion's Serve" by local knife maker Claude Lambert, he said.

Chicken Express has also donated free chicken meals to children who attend the gun show, he said.

The show is run by the members of the Lions Club, Yach said, noting around 30 members will be volunteering. He also said he wanted to thank his wife, club President Mickey Yach. "My wife helps me tremendously. I couldn't pull it together without her."

Show times are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Sunday. The admission fee is $10. Admission is free for children 11 and younger.

Local on 01/17/2020

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