Day/Time | Location | Event | Description |
Thursday | |||
5:00PM - 5:15PM | Main Stage | Welcome | Grab dinner from a local Missoula food truck and join your fellow BHAers for the welcome reception, where we’ll kick the weekend off with some product giveaways from our corporate partners, a rundown on what you can expect during the weekend, and live entertainment. |
6:00PM - 7:30PM | Main Stage | Pub Trivia | Compete with your chapter for the title of BHA Trivia Champion! |
7:30PM - 9:00PM | Main Stage | Live Music with Sam Nasset Band | Enjoy an online concert with Montana music legends Sam and Russ Nasset, who live here in Missoula. |
Friday | |||
8:00AM - 9:00AM | Village Area | Group Fitness | Join BHA's Ty Stubblefield and Kevin Farron for a group hike and run to get the endorphins flowing! |
9:00AM - 4:00PM | Vendor Area | Vendors open | Visit with representatives from your favorite hunting and fishing companies across the continent. Check out the latest gear and compete in games that give you a chance to win prizes! |
9:00AM - 12:30PM | Village Area | Hunter, Angler, Wild Game Villages | Throughout the morning, you’ll have the opportunity to explore different “Villages,” like the Hunting Village, Fishing Village and Wild Game Village, where experts in their fields will be on hand to demonstrate new skills and answer questions. |
9:00AM - 10:15AM | Amphitheater | Emerging Technologies Panel | Join us as we cover new hunting and angling technologies and what they mean for our fair chase heritage. From electronic bowsights to fishing drones and e-bikes, new technologies are a constant source of controversy in the hook and bullet world. Don’t miss this detailed exploration of our technological standards and what fair chase ethics means in a changing world. |
10:30AM - 12:00PM | Amphitheater | To Notch or Not to Notch Panel | Hunt long enough, and you’ll put a less-than-lethal shot on an animal. Does first blood mean you should punch your tag? Answers to this persistent question vary from hunter to hunter. Join the conversation and find out what the consensus is - or if there is consensus. |
2:00PM - 4:00PM | Village/Vendor Area | Conservation Carnival | Test your backcountry skills against your fellow members in an array of fun and hilarious competitions? Better yet, if you’re the top competitor in an event, you’ll win prizes and compete on-stage in the finals on Saturday night! |
7:30PM - 9:30PM | Amphitheater | Campfire Stories | This annual Rendezvous highlight promises to steal the show again this year. Watch outdoor luminaries like Janis Putelis and Clay Newcomb recount their best backcountry tales. |
10:00PM - 11:30PM | Campground 2 | Campfire | Kick back and relax as your fellow members get on stage and tell you their most memorable stories from public lands. You never know what you might hear! |
Saturday | |||
8:00AM - 9:00AM | Throughout the Fort | Hike to Hunt | We’ll kick off the annual Hike to Hunt Challenge on Saturday morning. So, break in your boots, load up your pack and start training! This is your chance to face off against Ty Stubblefield and leave him in the dust. |
9:00AM - 4:00PM | Vendor Area | Vendors Open | Visit with representatives from your favorite hunting and fishing companies across the continent. Check out the latest gear and compete in games that give you a chance to win prizes! |
9:00AM - 12:30PM | Village Area | Hunter, Angler, Wild Game Villages | Throughout the morning, you’ll have the opportunity to explore different “Villages,” like the Hunting Village, Fishing Village and Wild Game Village, where experts in their fields will be on hand to demonstrate new skills and answer questions. |
9:00AM - 10:15PM | Amphitheater | Directors Panel | Tune in for this in-depth conversation and Q&A with BHA’s policy, communications, operations and executive leadership to find out what’s next for the organization and public land owners worldwide. |
10:30AM - 12:00PM | Amphitheater | The Future of Bison Panel | The Western landscape is in flux, and the future of North America’s most iconic big game species is uncertain. This event will catalogue the myriad issues facing wild bison, the controversies surrounding bison and agriculture, and what hunters can do to ensure that we have opportunities to hunt truly wild, free-range bison in the future. |
1:00PM - 2:00PM | Main Stage | Awards Ceremony | Join us as we recognize individuals and chapters who have gone above and beyond in their efforts to protect our wildlife and wild places. Get ready share your gratitude. Crying optional. |
2:00PM - 4:30PM | Village Area | Wild Game Cook-off | Fish eye beignets? Rattlesnake tacos with prickly pear garnish? We’ve seen a lot of incredible dishes at our wild game cook-off in past years, so we’re excited to see which chapter steps up with the best flavor, presentation and hosting ability this year! |
5:00PM - 6:00PM | Main Stage | Life member Promo - 1 hour flash sale | Life Members will be acknowledged at 5:00 pm with a special rifle give-away to one lucky Life Member. People who aren't yet Life Members will have one hour from the special announcement to join and be entered to win. Thank you, Life Members! |
6:00PM - 7:00PM | Village Area | Serving of the Bison | After a full day of breaking down and butchering a whole bison on Friday, our friends at Traeger Grills will spend Saturday preparing bison meat for dinner that night! Optional addition: Each Rendezvous attendee will be served a full plate of Traeger grilled bison meat and sides and can enjoy dinner while watching the finals of our Conservation Carnival on stage. |
7:00PM - 8:30PM | Village Area/Main Stage | Finals of Conservation Carnival | Watch the best of the best compete for titles. |
8:30PM - 9:00PM | Main Stage | Closing Remarks | Close out Rendezvous with BHA favorites Hal Herring and Land Tawney as they share why we continue our important work to protect public lands, waters and wildlife. And don’t forget, we’ll be giving away lots of prizes at the end! |
10:00PM - 11:30PM | Campground 2 | Campfire | Not ready for bed yet? Join the revelry and put a cap on an incredible weekend! |
Wednesday
Chapter Leader BBQ and Games
- Attendance limited to participants in Thursday Chapter Leader Training.
Thursday
Chapter Leader Training
- Campaign planning, chapter best practices, breakout discussions and more (agenda will be shared with chapter leaders in advance).
Dinner and Welcome Reception
- Grab dinner from a local Missoula food truck and join your fellow BHAers for the welcome reception, where we’ll kick off the weekend with product giveaways from our corporate partners, a rundown on what you can expect during the weekend, and live entertainment.
- Quite possibly the coolest dinner on the planet, this is your chance to enjoy an elegant and ridiculously fun dinner where the continent's top wild game chefs prepare incredible wild game dishes table-side. Preceded by a cocktail hour, the dinner features three courses, each paired with wine and beer, and is followed up with dessert and a raucous live auction. Not included with general admission, tickets can be purchased separately.
Friday
AM Workout
- Start the day off right on Friday morning by joining a group workout! You can hike, run or do cross-fit with your fellow members.
Bison Butchering
- This is BIG! On Friday morning, we’ll get a whole bison delivered to the Rendezvous and will be breaking down the entire bison throughout the day. Think brain tanning, butchering, stock making, offal use...all of it! Our friends at Traeger will feed everyone bison on Saturday night!
Skills Acquisition
- Throughout the morning, you’ll have the opportunity to explore different “Villages,” like the Hunting Village, Fishing Village and Wild Game Village, where experts in their field will be on hand to demonstrate new skills and answer questions.
Raffles/Auctions
- Get ready to win INCREDIBLE prizes from our corporate partners like Weatherby, Savage, Thompson/Center, Seek Outside, Yeti, First Lite, Vortex, Traeger, NRS and more! All proceeds will go towards conserving your public lands and waters!
Kids Area
- Calling all youngsters and future conservationists! We’ll have games, presentations and challenges set up for you to enjoy 9am-12pm and 1pm-4pm on Friday and Saturday! Child care not provided, parents/guardians must be present.
Panel Discussions
- Engage with BHA’s executive staff or sit in on other expert panels on topics relevant to the backcountry hunter and angler.
Conservation Carnival
- Test your backcountry skills against your fellow members in an array of fun and hilarious competitions. If you’re the top competitor in an event, you’ll win prizes and compete on-stage in the finals on Saturday night!
- Whether you’re itchin’ to rub elbows with Rendezvous VIPs or just eager to sample BHA’s very own whiskey and wine, you’ll enjoy this unique experience. Sport coats and bolo ties aren't required for the men, but it’s not a bad idea!
Public Lands Trivia
- Huddle up with your chapter and put your collective brains together to answer some tough questions about hunting, fishing and conservation. The top 3 chapters will win some great prizes from our partners that the chapters can use for future fundraising. This all takes place during dinner on Friday night and precedes the Campfire Stories.
Campfire Stories
- Kick back and relax as your fellow members get on stage and tell you their most memorable stories from public lands. You never know what you might hear!
Saturday
Hike to Hunt
- We’ll kick off the annual Hike to Hunt Challenge on Saturday morning. So, break in your boots, load up your pack and start training! This is your chance to face off against Ty Stubblefield and leave him in the dust.
Awards
- Join us as we recognize individuals and chapters who have gone above and beyond in their efforts to protect our wildlife and wild places. Get ready share your gratitude. Crying optional.
Raffles/Auctions
- Get ready to win INCREDIBLE prizes from our corporate partners like Weatherby, Savage, Thompson/Center, Seek Outside, Yeti, First Lite, Vortex, Traeger, NRS and more! All proceeds will go towards conserving your public lands and waters!
Skills Acquisition
- Throughout the morning, you’ll have the opportunity to explore different “Villages,” like the Hunting Village, Fishing Village and Wild Game Village, where experts in their field will be on hand to demonstrate new skills and answer questions from individuals.
Kids Area
- Calling all youngsters and future conservationists! We’ll have games, presentations and challenges set up for you to enjoy 9am-12pm and 1pm-4pm on Friday and Saturday! Child care not provided, parents/guardians must be present.
Conservation Carnival
- Test your backcountry skills against your fellow members in an array of fun and hilarious competitions? Better yet, if you’re the top competitor in an event, you’ll win prizes and compete on stage in the finals on Saturday night!
Wild Game Cook-Off
- Fish eye beignets? Rattlesnake tacos with prickly pear garnish? We’ve seen a lot of incredible dishes at our wild game cook-off in past years, so we’re excited to see which chapter steps up with the best flavor, presentation and hosting ability this year!
Life Members
- Life Members will be acknowledged at 5:00 pm with a special rifle giveaway to one lucky Life Member. People who aren't yet Life Members will have one hour from the special announcement to join and be entered to win. Thank you, Life Members!
Bison Feast
- After a full day of breaking down and butchering whole bison on Friday, our friends at Traeger Grills will spend Saturday preparing bison meat for dinner that night! Optional addition: Each Rendezvous attendee will be served a full plate of Traeger grilled bison meat and sides and can enjoy dinner while watching the finals of our Conservation Carnival on stage
Campfire Stories
- Kick back and relax as your fellow members get on stage and tell you their most memorable stories from public lands. You never know what you might hear!
Bonfire
- Not ready for bed yet? Join the revelry and put a cap on an incredible weekend!