This Saturday, June 26th is National Canoe Day. It's a big deal - maybe an even bigger holiday than Christmas!
In Calgary, there are no events listed on the official website, but there are still lots of ways to celebrate this significant national holiday. Go for a paddle. Take a non-paddler for a canoe trip down the Bow. Stop into Underdercurrents to buy yourself a new canoe. Or, just give your existing canoe a hug.
If you are doing something canoe-related this Saturday, there is still time to register it on the website!
For more information about National Canoe Day, visit the official website.
On Wednesday (June 2nd) there was a "test-drive" of the Calgary Weir (Harvie Passage) by invited experts and the area designers.
Randy and Mark from our strategic partners, RMPC, and our repair guy & paddler extraordinaire, Mark, were among the invited experts to test the features and provide feedback to the designers and construction folk. Everyone who paddled it found the features were more exciting than anticipated. Of course, the water level was only 90 (on the low side!) so that makes the waves more retentive.
The team was testing "drop #3" and "drop #4" in the river left channel. The first two drops are not constructed yet. And, the river right channel is partially completed, but has no water flowing in it, yet.
A YouTube video with some of the highlights is below. Check it out!
Today, April 22nd, is Earth Day - its 40th anniversary actually. If you are having trouble deciding what to do to celebrate Earth Day, let me make a suggestion.
There are only 8 days left to help ensure the integrity of the South Nahanni Rivershed! The federal government is seeking input about a new park upstream of the Nahanni National Park Reserve. The headwaters of the Nahanni are situated in this proposed Park, but neither of the 3 proposed boundaries includes the whole headwaters! If enough of us speak up this week, we will be able to protect the whole watershed!
CPAWS (Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society) has made it super easy to submit your comments to the feds with an easy to complete web-form - there are even suggested talking points right there! It will take only two minutes and is a wonderful way to acknowledge Earth Day!
On Thursday April 22nd at 7:30 PM, Undercurrents is hosting a Nahanni National Park presentation at the store. David Hibbard, the Paddler's Outfitter/Guide, will entertain you with an evening of image and sound from the South Nahanni River and its exciting headwater tributaries.
Mr. Hibbard's presentation will celebrate the recent expansion of Nahanni National Park-Reserve and the proposed Naats'ihch'oh National Park-Reserve in the headwaters of the South Nahanni River.
With close to 60 trips on the Nahanni, David will also share from his marvellous collection of images from the entire Nahanni watershed. Whether you are planning a trip to the Nahanni in the future or just interested in pictures and stories from this beautiful part of Canada this will be an evening you are sure to enjoy.
Job Opportunity! The Bow Waters Canoe Club, one of the premier recreational paddling clubs in Canada, is searching for a new Executive Director! If you have ever dreamed of working in the paddlesports business, or just need a new challenge, then check out the pdf file below! The deadline date has been extended to April 15th.
WaterWalker Film Fest coming to Calgary - One night only!
Image from the film: Paddle to Seattle
photographer Brian A. Dixon.
The WATERWALKER Film Festival, a collection of the best canoeing, kayaking and environmental films of the year, will be shown in Calgary for one night only! The festival presentation is on Friday, March 26th at Mount Royal University, starting at 7:00 pm. The evening is presented by Undercurrents and the Mount Royal Eco-Tourism Program.
All proceeds will benefit Leave No Trace Canada. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. They are available in person at Undercurrents. Or, if you order tickets by phone at 262-GEAR you can pick them up at the "Will Call" at the door.
Entries to the festival encompass an exciting range of locations, content and styles. Both amateur and professional film makers have submitted their films from around the world – they are authentic and filled with plenty of great footage. You can expect to see “everything from the serene to the extreme!”
The WATERWALKER Film Festival is a tribute to the late Bill Mason, the great conservationist, canoeist and filmmaker who cared passionately about his work and the wilderness. He wanted to share its beauty and to promote its protection. As he once said, “Film is for me a means of expressing my feelings about the things I enjoy, things I am concerned about, mostly the natural world”.
The WATERWALKER Film Festival came together following Mason’s death in order to help continue his vision.
Leave No Trace Canada is a national non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and inspiring responsible outdoor recreation through education, research and partnerships. Leave No Trace builds awareness, appreciation and respect for our wildlands.
Undercurrents has special hours for the holiday season. The highlights are that we are open late on December 23rd (the traditional "last minute shopping day") and are closing early on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve. Seasons Greetings everyone!
Budweiser American Ale, an amber beer from the makers of Bud, has announced the signing of Eric Jackson as an ambassador. (see the press release here.)
Eric Jackson (known as EJ) is a remarkable kayaker. He represented the US in the Olympics for slalom kayaking. He has won the World Championships in freestyle kayaking (rodeo) an unprecedented four times. He has even been inducted into the International Whitewater Hall of Fame. He has designed the best-selling whitewater kayaks of all-time and now has his own kayak company (Jackson Kayak), which is number one in North America for whitewater sales, by a long shot. He guy is an icon!
The Bud deal is surely good news for EJ - I wonder how many cases of suds he's going to get? More importantly, it is a good thing for kayaking! EJ will be featured in ads and point of sale marketing (basically ads in the liquor stores/7-11s all over the US), which will introduce more Americans to paddlesports. Additionally, Bud will have a presence at paddling events which will introduce kayakers to their brand (read free beer at events).
I think anything that puts paddlers and paddling in front of the masses is bound to spin-off a number of people curious enough to give our great activity a try. And the more, the merrier - I say! Unfortunately, Budweiser American Ale is not available in Canada, so we won't be seeing any of the ads here.
