CABOT — Hunting is more than just a sport in central Arkansas. It is an entire culture that dictates fashion, provides a defining identity for many people, and gives families and friends a common hobby with lots of time to hang out while waiting on the next target to come into view.
It’s no wonder, then, that churches have formed men’s events around a hunting theme. In Cabot, two churches — First Baptist Church and Mount Carmel Baptist Church — have come together to host a community event called the Cabot Wild Game Expo, set to take place Feb. 17.
“God gave me a vision for this a long time ago,” said Brett Tullos, head of men’s ministries at Mount Carmel Baptist Church in Cabot. “We’ve done things individually in our churches. This time, instead of Mount Carmel doing an event at our church and First Baptist doing an event, we thought we’d do a community event.”
Tullos emphasized that this is not a church event, but a community event. It will take place at Cabot High School.
“We would love for people who may not even come to church to come to this event,” he said.
The event will include door prizes, vendors and giveaways. Two of the larger giveaways are an ATV and a three-person, three-day and two-night hog hunt, worth more than $3,000 and provided by Bayou Boys Outdoors.
William Niles with Tall Timber Retrievers will be one of the vendors at the expo.
Niles trains dogs for obedience and for hunting. He has four levels of training — obedience, started dog, seasoned dog and finished dog — and each level builds on the previous one as far as skill and precision.
“It’s a lot more technical work,” Niles said of the finished dog training.
With the obedience training, Niles teaches the dogs how to work around other dogs and people, follow basic commands, and act properly around vehicles and in public. Then when it comes to training for retrieving, he works to get the dogs used to being around guns and retrieving birds and dummies. All training is on-site, and he boards the dogs for months, depending on the needs of the training.
“I take four at a time; that’s as much as I’ll take at the moment,” he said. “Eventually, I’m going to expand and take more.”
This will be Tall Timber Retrievers’ first time to go to an event like the Cabot Wild Game Expo, and Niles said he’s excited to make connections and tell people what he does.
“I’m going to [offer] a few prizes people can win,” he said, including a handmade knife and a discount on one of his dog-training options.
Other vendors include Bull Savvy Apparel, Fireman’s Choice Baits of Cabot, Roman Wood Design and Ms. Cindy’s Sewing Room.
Doors to the Cabot Wild Game Expo will open at 3:30 p.m. In addition to vendors, displays and giveaways, dinner will be served at 6 p.m. with special guests Rocky and Jamie Burrus from Sweet Addiction TV. Tullos also said Trophies of Grace, a ministry out of Florida, will bring its 90-foot trophy whitetail display.
Tickets to the Cabot Wild Game Expo are $20. For more information on tickets or to become a vendor, visit the Cabot Wild Game Expo Facebook page, text “EXPO” to 88000, or email cabotwildgameexpo@gmail.com.