Exhibitor registrations for the Lake Havasu Boat Show April 19-21 in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., are ahead of last year’s pace, according to event organizer Bob Brown. Heading into its 22nd year, the event is presented by the Lake Havasu Marine Association and sponsored by Teague Custom Marine.

“We’re doing everything possible to accommodate all the exhibitor and vendor requests that are coming in,” Brown said in a press release.  “Based upon early results from other boat shows around the country, it appears that the recreational boating industry is finally enjoying a modest rebound. Attendance figures are trending upward and we are certainly seeing more optimism on the part of our participating exhibitors. It’s been a long dry spell and it’s encouraging to see boat sales begin to turn-around.

“Right now, we’re sitting at 90 exhibitors with more than a month to go and 15 or so still ‘sitting on the fence,'” Brown added. “We’re making a push this year for more East Coast exhibitors, especially those with center consoles.”

As it has for the past 21 years, Lake Havasu will serve as the backdrop for Arizona’s largest boat show.

Arizona’s biggest boat show, the Lake Havasu event also serves as the precursor to Desert Storm, which is slated this year for April 24-47. Beyond the exhibits, the boat show will feature high-speed water-ski racing on Saturday and Sunday and the “Legends of the Lake” classic car show. New features this year include an International Chili Society “Homestyle” chili cook-off and salsa competition— the proceeds of which will go to the Lake Havasu High School Booster Club—that is open to all chefs. (The cook-off winner qualifies to participate in the world chili championships at Palm Springs in October.) On Saturday from noon to 3 p.m., A&E Network reality TV show “Barter Kings” stars Steve McHugh and Antonio Palazzola will be on-site at the boat show to sign autographs and take photos with fans.

For fans of the A&E Network hit reality TV show, ‘Barter Kings’, stars Steve McHugh and Antonio Palazzola will be making a personal appearance at the boat show on Saturday.  These guys are the masters of barter, wheeling and dealing their way from modest valued items into luxury commodities often worth fifty to a hundred times more than the original object they started with.  Steve and Antonio will be on-site at the boat show from noon to 3pm for a meet and greet to sign autographs and take photos with fans.

For qualified buyers, boat demo rides are available by appointment immediately following the boat show on Sunday afternoon and all day on Monday, April 22, according to the release.

“We’re looking forward to having another enjoyable, successful and record-setting year for the show,” said Brown.