CAMBRIDGE — February was proclaimed National Outdoor Show Month during the Feb. 5 meeting of the Dorchester County Council. The annual event will be held for the 74th time on Feb. 22 and 23, at the South Dorchester School.

A delegation of organizers, show royalty, and their families were present at the council meeting to receive the proclamation and express their gratitude. “The commissioners have always been supportive,” said Buddy Foxwell, who has served as master of ceremonies for many years.

The National Outdoor Show highlights the lifestyles, traditional crafts and skills found in rural Dorchester County, especially in its southern, marshy areas. Included in the shows contests and displays will be waterfowl calling, skinning, cooking and art.

It takes most of a year to finalize all the arrangements. The work is done by community volunteers who give their time and talents to support the celebration of local traditions.
Calling up members of the organizing committee, Mr. Foxwell said, “They donate their time, they donate their efforts.”

Among the members of the group presented to the council and its audience of citizens, were Miss Outdoors 2018 Jordan LeCompte, Little Miss Outdoors Evelai Hurley and Little Mister Outdoors Michael Willey III.
Ms. LeCompte recently returned from a visit to the Louisiana Fur & Wildlife Festival in Cameron Parish. Groups from the two areas visit each others’ events - there will be friends from Louisiana at the show in South Dorchester later this month.
Ms. LeCompte said she enjoyed her trip, and meeting new people. “Everyone was very welcoming,” she said. “It was fun.”

The show’s website says, “You are now in Muskrat Country: the hearetland of sportsmen, tralppers, watermen and wildlife! We are proud to show you the best that comes from our boot-sucking marshes and the flowing water that surrounds them. Most of all, we hope to share in the unique spirit and character of our hard-working people, who keep one foot in a technologically savvy world, and the other stuck deep in our traditional, old-school ways.”

This year’s show will begin Feb. 22, at 5 p.m. For the matinée on Feb. 23, doors will open at 10:30 a.m., and the evening show will begin at 7 p.m. Admission is $8 for adults, $4 for children. A separate admission is required for each show.

The school’s address is 3485 Golden Hill Road, Church Creek. For more information, visit www.nationaloutdoorshow.org, or call 410-397-8835.