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Weekend show: A plethora of toys for the big boys

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By David Burke | Friday, May 9, 2008 5:00 PM CDT | () comments

(Graphic by Joe Kelley/Quad-City Times) (Contributed photo)

With the brevity of a bumper sticker, someone once noted that the only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys.

That bit of traffic light wisdom comes to fruition today with the “Big Boys & Toys” show at the Orthopaedic Specialists Sports Complex in Davenport.

The free, seven-hour show is made for the guy’s guy, with 25-plus exhibitors showing off SUVs, trucks, RVs and trailers, classic cars, beermaking, winemaking, billiard tables, darts and satellite TVs.

There also will be ambulances, police cars and fire trucks on display in the parking lot.

A band named Sid V and the Human Resources will play live music covering a large gamut of genres.

Glenda Verdick, niche and event coordinator for the Quad-City Times, which is co-sponsoring the event along with Quad-City Satellite and Lujack’s Northpark Auto Plaza, said a similar event has been a hit in Dubuque, Iowa, and she convinced her bosses at the newspaper that it could work here as well.

“It’s a different market for us,” she added.

Hooters will have a food stand and Budweiser will have a beer garden. There will be a variety of activities, including a climbing wall and a challenge by the U.S. Marine Corps’ area recruiter to see whether visitors can do more pullups than a designated Marine.

Although there will be some parking in the dome’s lot, there also will be a shuttle trolley going back and forth from the NorthPark Mall parking lot, north of the Sears store there.

The featured attraction this afternoon is mixed martial arts, or MMA, fighter Jens Pulver, who trains in Bettendorf and is nationally acclaimed in the growing sport.

During a session from 1 to 2 p.m. labeled “MMA 101,” Pulver will sign autographs, talk about the sport and give an MMA demonstration. It’s a lead-up to Extreme Challenge 96, a series of MMA fights tonight in the sports dome complex. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for the 8 p.m. bouts. (Tickets for the nighttime event are $25 to $60, available at the complex and all Hy-Vee Food Stores locations.)

Greg Swanson, Extreme Challenge promotions and marketing manager, says Pulver is a top featherweight contender in World Extreme Cagefighting and a former Ultimate Fighting Championships lightweight champion.

“Jens is a talented, premier champion, a top-flight fighter,” he said.

“We were talking about doing something with them (Extreme Challenge) and it was a nice tie-in for the two companies,” Verdick said.

David Burke can be contacted at (563) 383-2400 or dburke@qctimes.com.