Thorunn Howatt
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (May 08/01) - There may have been freshly fallen snow on the ground outside, but the weather was fine last weekend inside the Yellowknife Community Arena.

More than 2,000 people had dreamy summer-day looks on their faces as they meandered through this year's boat show. The foul weather may have been a benefit for Force One, who put on the bash along with AutoTec Toyota Sales and Service.

"There is nothing else to do this weekend," said Force One's Doug Witty. Attendance for this year's event was up by about 20 per cent. It is the sixth time for the boat and auto show. "We've had a lot of people new to boating coming in."

The boat show is the best way for Force One to kick off its boating season. And it's a huge effort.

More than 30 boats, 12 motorcycles about a dozen all-terrain vehicles and displays of all types of marine accessories were displayed in the arena. Force One rents the building, staffs it and promotes the event.

It partnered with AutoTec to fill up a good part of the venue with sparkling new Toyotas.

Witty pointed to rows of marine electronics on the arena floor. They were part of a collection from a marine business that closed out.

"We bring everything in from the store -- boats, motorcycles, docking systems and waterskis," said Witty walking over to a "mosquito magnet" that's guaranteed to drop 30,000 mosquitos overnight. "This is real. We've tested it. It works."

The boat show is an especially important event for Force One because it kicks off the season.

"And that's hard to do when the water is open." As soon as the weather is nice enough to go boating, it will be difficult to draw enthusiasts away from the lakes.

And the boat show is a nice break from the cold weather.

"It gets people talking about summer," said Witty.