The Shenandoah Valley Gun Show took place Saturday and Sunday at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds.

Individuals from different states gathered at the gun show to sell and buy guns, knives and even jewelry. The event brings together a community of gun enthusiasts and is a time for socialization as well. The event also provided a concealed weapons class for those interested in attending.

At the gun show, there were approximately 250 tables, according to the Showmasters Gun Show website.

The two main rooms of the gun show were filled with tables of vendors selling, guns, ammo, knives and even model cars and jewelry.

Ken Coleman, from Rockbridge County, is one of the vendors at the show. He attends the gun show every year in February and Fall with a friend who owns a cattle farm, according to Coleman. The two sell their guns privately and do not have a formal business.

Coleman said he and his friend travel to the area and stay the night in Harrisonburg. It is also a tradition that the two of them eat a steak at Texas Roadhouse together.

“This is more of a social event for us, rather than a money-making event,” Coleman said.

There are four or five vendors he routinely talks with before and during the gun shows, according to Coleman. He will spend time catching up with them and socializing. Coleman enjoys spending time with people who have common interests.

High Stakes Holsters also had a table at the event. Lisa Baisch, from Tennessee, said the company has been making body armor for 12 years, but this is their first time at the Shenandoah Valley Gun Show. She plans to attend some other gun shows throughout Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Boyd Burkholder from Harrisonburg also attended the Shenandoah Valley Gun Show to sell knives. According to Burkholder, he sells a lot of knives at the gun show. This is his second or third time at the event.

Burkholder is a member of the Shenandoah Knife Club and is the owner of Burkholder Welding & Repair. The knives he sells are collectibles and there is a large variety of knives to pick from.

There are not just guns and knives at the gun show.

Ellie White-Sander, with Designs by Ellie, sells jewelry at the gun show. She is from Alaska but is originally from Fishersville.

Not many people know that there is also jewelry at the gun show, according to White-Sander.

“It’s really good for the ladies to know,” White-Sander said.

White-Sander mainly sells at the farmers market in Alaska, where she has received first prize for two years in a row for her designs, but she also sells her jewelry in Fishersville, Harrisonburg and Salem during the winter months, according to White-Sander.

All of her jewelry is handcrafted and can only be bought at the shows she attends, her products are not online or at stores, according to White-Sander.

“I am called the guilt table,” White-Sander said.

Guys will buy guns and then tell her they are glad she is there, so they can get something for their wives, according to White-Sander.

White-Sander said that everyone who attends gun shows wants to be at the Shenandoah Valley Gun Show.

Jason Damico and his son Easton Damico attend the gun show yearly together. It is a time that the two can get away and have some father-son time, according to Jason Damico.

This is the third or fourth time that they have been there together, according to Easton Damico.

At the event, there was also a Virginia Concealed Carry Class on Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., in a building at the back of where the gun show was, according to Michael Gelles with Showmasters.

Glenn Blandford was the presenter of the course, he holds several instructor certifications from the NRA as well as the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, according to the Showmasters Gun Show website.

During Saturday’s class, there were fourteen people in attendance.

Blandford reviewed safety tips, such as keeping your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot. He also explained what could happen if a gun owner does not practice this safety tip.

Blandford has an extensive career as a police officer, police supervisor, investigator, instructor and firearms unit commander throughout his 27-year in law enforcement, according to the website.

The next gun shows are scheduled for May 4-5, Oct. 26-27 and Nov. 2-3 at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds, 4808 South Valley Pike in Harrisonburg.