2011 VKC Festival a Success

Paddling festivals are often a great opportunity to get together with fellow paddlers; celebrate, and create interest in the sport. Many regions seem to have their own festival or race that goes on annually, and as much work as it is to organize, it's amazing to see the smiles on peoples faces having fun at the event.
 
With bated breath, many of us in the Lower BC Mainland awaited the annual Vancouver Kayak Club Festival held here at my home base, The Chilliwack River Valley. Weather cooperated for the most part as we had no rain, and a beautiful, hot, sunny, bluebird day on Sunday! Raffles and draws were held as well as a silent and loud auction where local paddler Ryan Bayes gathered a paddling trip to Ecuador with http://www.endlessadventure.ca/.
 
Vendors were out expositioning their goods including www.westerncanoekayak.com and www.glenmoresailboats.com, who's Dagger Agent 6.2 was the grand prize of the raffle that I had the luck to win. Reps were also on hand from Dagger, Wavesport and Jackson kayak.
 
A race was held in two categories, creekboat and playboat from the top of Tamihi Rapid to the bottom of Campground Rapid. Also a throwdown was held on the Sunday on the best accessible playfeatures we could find, which was a challenge with the low water. From the race I ended up somehow winning a 70 liter drybag/backpack!
 
Shuttles were provided up and down the valley for runs all over the wide range (class I - IV) Chilliwack River, and on Sunday part of Tamihi Creek was also paddled.
 
The band 'Switch' performed Saturday night as the entertainment, though much was provided by Team Kootenay Kayak, who were among the groups from outside the area that joined us for the festival.
 
A big thanks goes out to the organizers at www.vankayak.org for their tireless efforts in making this happen, now we get to go and enjoy everyone else's hard work for the rest of the summer!
 
Next up on my personal list is The Puntledge River Festival on Vancouver Island May 28-29 here!
 
Thanks to Darrell and Chilliwack Times for the photos.
 
...and in other news, I was down at Western Canoe and Kayak this week and picked up a new Pyranha Molan Medium as my playboat of choice (review coming soon!), new fnaheadgear.com helmet, and finally got a drysuit and new gasket for my blown drytop one.
 
I'm sure there are some details I'm forgetting...but anyway I will see you next year here!
 
Adam