Whitewater draws families to the Madawaska
BY KATHLEEN WILKER PalmerFest is 330 whitewater
paddlers playing in the Madawaska River, 50 outstanding instructors, 28 canoe and kayak exhibitors, 30 kids in subsidized whitewater clinics and 14 others in free daycare. Presented by Rapid Media (rapid-
media.com) and held at the Paddler Co-op
www.paddlerco-op.com at Palmer Rapids southwest of Pem- broke, it’s also tent city, dinner, live music and partying, and a weekend of fun and friendship. When I heard it was $254 for the
whole family for camping, Satur- day dinner, Sunday breakfast, free daycare and a four-course intro to tandem canoeing, I was sold. My husband and I are flatwater trippers, but new to whitewater, so the intro clinic was perfect. We love including our kids (aged six and three) in our adventures, and
were cautiously optimis- tic when we heard there was free daycare during clinic time. Yes, some guilt about kids in daycare while I played on the water, but camping with us was more fun than leaving them behind with Grandma. And when the kids met the young paddlers running the daycare, we knew we’d all be having a blast. The only weekend tears were when we picked up the youngest from daycare for lunch, and he wasn’t ready to leave. Rapid Media’s founder, Scott
MacGregor, explained why he thinks PalmerFest works: “We wanted to give back to the paddling communi- ty and grow the sport. So we hire top instructors. We’ve also taken away all the barriers in terms of childcare and expense that make getting into whitewater difficult for families.” Our kids attended PalmerFest for
free this year, but next year we’ll pay $65 for our daughter so she can take the clinics for seven- to 14-year-olds. After seeing bigger kids don wet- suits and head out on the water, she asked me how long she’d have to save her allowance to buy her own kayak!
“Rapid Media isn’t a non-profit,
but PalmerFest is definitely a non- profit event,” MacGregor said. “But when you look around the paddling community, you see a lot of people in their mid-30s,” he added. “And we’ve got kids.”
18 ottawaoutdoors
Tonya Bruin of Chelsea attended
PalmerFest without her kids, as a 10th-anniversary trip with her hus- band. As a new whitewater paddler, she liked the unthreatening mood of the place. But negotiating her way through a swarm of boats for her turn at the rapids was a “challenge.”
Paddling Etiquette 101
• Paddlers coming downstream have the right of way.
• Paddlers waiting on river left and on river right alternate entering the current.
• When it’s your turn to play in the current, go for it! Hesitate on the eddy line and you’ll confuse other paddlers.
• Share the eddy. Once you’ve entered an eddy, tuck your boat out of the way so the next boat can also enter safely.
www.ottawaoutdoors.ca
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