From July 11th to the 14th, I had the privilege of attending the 10th Annual Preppers Meet. This year was my first time back since it’s humble beginnings in Huntsville, Ontario many years ago and I was floored by what I saw!
The meet was held at the Slovenian Hunters and anglers club in Everett, On, and Oh what a venue! This year we were spoiled with indoor plumbing of all things. You don’t realize what a luxury flush toilets can be until you don’t have them. The water supply in the clubhouse was drawn from a spring and UV treated for the clearest water one could imagine. Hats off to the folks at the club for being such great hosts, and the complimentary morning coffee was a popular feature. The inground pool made up for the lack of showers, and the licensed food and beverage venue was a hit. I’ll be raving about the roasted half chicken dinner for a while!
As usual, there was a variety of presentations and activities. Eric Pinkerton of Canadian Prepper Podcast fame and owner/operator of Rapid Survival opened things up Thursday evening with a live shortwave listening event. He would also give a talk later in the weekend about amateur radio which was well attended and had folks asking some interesting and important questions, which he answered well.
Friday and Saturday gave way to a constant flow of talks on varying subjects including essential oils, stop the bleed first aid, an introduction to beekeeping, urban preparedness, and many more. There was even a women’s panel on self sufficiency. Honestly, I could go on and on about the presentations, but that would make for a blog post too long to read. That’s just how diverse and complete the presentations were.
Now if you’re thinking the entire meetup was one long winded seminar after another, you would be dead wrong. Steve Thomas was back teaching the art of the slingshot, Karen Stevenson of course gave her wild edibles walk, Brian Opdenkelder went over prepper combatives, and no one will forget the improvised projectile activity…potato guns can be fun! The fire challenge was a big hit as usual.
If you wanted to pick up some gear, there was a variety of vendors. First aid supplies, essential oils, freeze dried foods, knives (of course there were knives!), slingshots, and more! Personally, I picked up a couple of EMP bags from Rapid Survival, some supliments for my aches and pains, a slingshot for my son along with a squirrel cooker and some random bits and bobs.
One just can’t go to the annual meet without participating in the raffle draw! There were some great items up for grabs! Terry Blackmore had his book series for a prize, along with a really comfy camping chair. Steve Thomas donated a rocket stove, a Berkey sport bottle was supplied by Rapid Survival, Grit, Grind, and Grace pitched in some freeze dried snacks, yours truly supplied a set of Baofeng radios on behalf of the Canadian Preppers Network, and Briden Solutions supplied a variety of items including a Base Camp food bucket from Peak Refuel. Terry Blackmore was always welcoming at the raffle table to sell you tickets!
This year’s keynote speaker was Ilana Shatilova, a former Captain in the Ukrainian Police sharing her expertise and experience regarding threat assessment in hostile environments. Much to my pleasure, this was as far from a political discussion as one could get. Her first person point of view was inspiring to say the least.
The organizer of this event has been bugging me for a few years now to attend and present and I’m glad I finally gave in. If you’re anywhere near Ontario, this is an absolute must to attend. Unfortunately, we’ll all have to wait a year for the next one, but rest assured, when details start coming out next spring for the 2025 meetup, I’ll be sure to let everyone know!
Special thanks go out to:
David Arama
Terry Blackmore
Bugout Dan
Brian Opdenkelder
For participating in my Meet The Experts Panel.
Photos published with permission from Annual Preppers Meet.