We are extremely honoured and excited to welcome Fred back to the old Squall for our 25th Anniversary Weekend Party - he contacted us first asking if he could play so after a bit of thought... we could hardly refuse ...
Celebrate our 25th year with FREE activities for all ages on & off the water. Test drive the latest hotrod boats then take in Kate’s Café with great coffee & good things to eat. Friendly chickens, staff & ice cream are the backdrop for two days of workshops, singsongs & messing about in boats. We are honoured to welcome back Fred J. Eaglesmith in concert Saturday evening - $20 (limited tickets - call now). Sunday’s events include even more demos & workshops.
The event takes place on Cole Lake at our Paddling Centre. The premise of the weekend is to be a low key, informal and fun celebration. We will have on and off water clinics during the day for both canoeing and kayaking as well as the cardboard kayak race. A more detailed schedule of these clinics will be posted closer to the event date. The highlight for a lot of people is to simply come and try out a wide variety of boats. There are hundreds on site, with lots of knowledgeable people available to answer questions and coach. You can use one of our boats for the clinics at no charge. We’ll have a café set up for light snacks – and the Saturday concert will be well worth taking in.
So it really is a paddle party – informal – but many opportunities for learning and trying out things. You can camp nearby at Killbear – or take in one of the local b&b’s.
White Squall Staff - Kevin rolling at the Paddle Party 2009 - photo: John Vetterli
The May 2009 Weekend Paddle Party was a great success despite the poor weather. Many braved the rain showers on Saturday and possible flurries on Sunday to take part in free workshops including beginner to advanced lessons as well as kids kayaking. There were over 20 instructors from more than six Ontario Paddling schools that were present to help out. Transport Canada launched its “Safe Boating Week” campaign with a display, informational booklets and a video presentation. The Muskoka/ Parry Sound Early Years Centre provided kids activities throughout the day on Saturday. Over the weekend, participants donated $450 and 100 lbs of food for the Harvest Share Food Bank. Even with the poor weather of the weekend, everyone had a great time.
The Annual Cardboard Kayak Race on Saturday afternoon was a hit. All participants were lined up and ready to go with very different looking kayaks and they were off with a splash. It was a close race full of inflated dry suits, kayak pumps and stuffed chickens equipped full with it’s own PDF, but in the end Team OBS was victorious.
Lunch time always brought on entertainment. On Saturday, Kelly Blades and friends had a relay race out the the Yellow dory and back. The audience dictated who got to paddle causing a very interesting race. Sunday proved to be just as exciting with rolling demonstrations by White Squall staff and presenters. Single rolls, hand rolls and tandem rolls were all showcased with oohs and ahhs from the audience.
Jay Aymar at the White Squall Festival / May 2nd, 2008 singing self penned song: Money Sure is Handy. Opening act for the Arrogant Worms
As promised, here is the material that I had hoped to pass out to participants at Paddle Party 2009 during the Weather Workshop
Jolly_Squall
biblio_weather_workshop.pdf