The Great Utah Emergency Preparedness Expo: April 6-7, 2012

Following up on last year’s very successful Emergency Preparedness Expo, a new preparedness based company Free Food 2 Go is sponsoring a preparedness event the first weekend this April. The expo will play host to a wide range of well know presenters in a variety of preparedness subjects as well as an expo hall for vendors, all at the UVU campus. This is the second year for this particular event which saw 1,500 attendees in 2011. This year the expectation is 2,500 to 3,500 attendees.

Free Food 2 Go, the expo’s overall sponsor appear to be a vaguely MLM/Co-op plan for food storage. As the sponsor, they will obviously have plenty of information prominently featured. However, if MLM sales pitches turn you off remember that while featured, they are just one of many vendors at the event. With the number of vendors and experts on hand this should prove to be a great chance to get hands-on with many of the suppliers and products discussed here on UtahPreppers.com and in other preparedness circles.

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Utah County Amateur Radio Emergency Service New HAM night tonight!

HAM Radio
HAM Radio

I received this email announcement from a HAM Radio friend.

For any of you who

  • have recently received your amateur radio call sign
  • are thinking about getting it and want to know more
  • you’ve had your call sign for awhile but never really been introduced to the UCARES organization

This is a good event. You can meet some of the organizers and people who’ve been in it awhile, and talk to them about what the organization is all about. Runs from 7 – 8:30PM.

More info here
put your mouse over the New Ham Night on the right.

Directions

Meet The Preppers: Encore Presentation

If you by chance missed out on the premiere of local prepper and UtahPrepper author Phil‘s show, “Meet the Preppers” (bio), then you have another opportunity this Sunday. Animal Planet is going to rebroadcast the pilot episode in order to test the ratings again. If you want an opportunity to see less doomsday, and more family practice, tune in and let Animal Planet know you want to watch more!

Meet the Preppers: My Pink Pistol

Mar 25, 2:00 pm

(60 minutes)

 

Spring garden

It’s finally time. I fertilized and prepped the soil the best I could last fall. I’ve been picking rocks throughout the year. The dirt has been nestled under a blanked of grass clippings all winter.

The dirt was perfect this morning—dry enough to work but moist enough for a good till without dust. I spent several hours working the soil and picking more rocks. Finally it was ready to plow. The carrots and peas are planted. The lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, and tomatoes (under wall-of-waters) will go in Tuesday after the storm passes.

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Preppers and recent media interest on Prepping

Prepping has seen a large spike in interest lately with several shows on cable TV networks currently on the air. From our own Phil Burns on “Meet the Preppers” to Doomsday Bunkers to Doomsday Preppers, interest in people preparing for hard times is at what seems like an all time high. Our recent post on Prepper coverage on NBCs Today Show is just one example.

The reason behind this increase is debatable with some contributing it to the hype surrounding the 2012 Mayan apocalypse myth. Others see a fundamental flaw in the monetary system which could cause widespread supply problems. Any one of these things could potentially happen, but for the most part, we merry band of preppers are just preparing for the unknown.

Regardless of how much the media attempts to marginalize or sensationalize what it means to be a Prepper, it really comes down to one thing. Whether it is a sudden lay off, a tornado, famine or the zombie apocalypse we know that being prepared for the worst will help us survive and thrive in tough times and we want to help others prepare too. UtahPreppers author Jayce says it well in this TheSpectrum article on prepping with:

“People need to know what they are preparing for and they want to help others when they figure it out,” Hall said. “People naturally want to share what they learn and we end up helping each other.”

What do you think about the recent spike in prepper interest?

Prepping featured on the Today Show this morning – Today Show Preppers

NBCs Today Show via Google Image Search
As I was getting for work this morning, like most mornings I had the morning news on so I can try to be up to date on those events that are reported on. As I was finishing up and getting ready to walk out the door, the Today Show on NBC came on following the local news. One of the first things they mentioned? The growing number of “preppers preparing for the end of the world”.
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Review: UVPaqlite and ToobLite Glow Sticks

ToobLite Mini with a Paracord lanyard and Turks Head knot.

At times when I’m building up my various forms of disaster kits, I want to throw you hands up in frustration at how reliant I am on different forms of technology. As much as I enjoy the outdoors I’m always bending it back to my more technological side. While this may make things more fun, accurate, or whatever other benefits I get, it also makes me dependent on power.

A great example of this is my need for light outdoors. Now sure we’d like to never be reliant on non-natural light forms, but it’s a reality. Even if you just have a midnight bathroom run once and a while, there are times that you need light. Historically of course, man has relied on fire to provide this light, and now we have flashlights to give us nice, portable light whenever we want, provided we have charged batteries.

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