THIS&That by Conor Mihell Eat, Drink and be Educated The Great Lakes Symposium Tour
symposium (sim po’zee um) n. 1 from the Greek, a drinking together, a merry feast 2 an occasion at which the experts of a particular subject meet to discuss a matter of interest.
Heralded by a caravan of kayak trailers and boat-toting cars on the high- ways, June and July are symposium season in the Great Lakes Basin. Paddlers tour the Lakes, gathering each weekend at spectacular destinations to drink, feast and paddle with the great minds of the sport. Experts and instructors reunite, the tall tales flow until long after the feasts are finished and the bottles are dry, and neophytes learn through seminars and demonstrations in a sup- portive environment.
Canadian festivities began in mid-May on Georgian Bay where paddlers gathered at White Squall outfitters for demos, seminars and the aprés-paddle tunes by folk artist Fred Eaglesmith. Horizons Adventures presents the Expose Yourself to Sea Kayaking Symposium at John Island YMCA Camp in mid-June. John Island lies four kilo- metres out in the North Channel of Lake Huron. Expose Yourself is a typical all-inclusive symposium where $353 per person includes fully outfitted sea kayaks, room and board, a boat shuttle to and from John Island, and enter-
Cardboard kayak races at White Squall
tainment. A drumming circle and a full- moon paddle kick off three days of instruction, tours and workshops about everything from kayak rolling to mas- sage.
The largest symposium in Ontario, the Rossport Islands Symposium, is held by Superior Oufitters on Lake Superior’s North Shore on the third weekend in June. The quaint village of Rossport dou- bles in size, flooded by 150 gregarious paddlers, and the adjacent Rainbow Falls Provincial Park campground over- flows.
Naturally Superior Adventures wraps up the Canadian events, hosting Paddlefest on the last weekend of June near Wawa, Ontario. Beginners learn on the warm, protected waters of the Michipicoten River while more advanced paddlers test the open waters of Lake Superior. For $264, participants receive meals, beach camping, paddling equipment, instruction, day tours and enter- tainment including a Friday evening slide show and an intimate concert with Ian Tamblyn at Naturally Superior’s Rock Island Lodge. On Sunday, multi-day tours set off for the scenic Superior Highlands coast and Denison Falls, and the wilderness coast of Lake Superior Provincial Park. Paddlefest boasts the highest instructor–participant ratio of any Great Lakes symposium. Sea kayakers stateside have their own list of events. In late May, the
Western Michigan Sea Kayaking Association had its annual symposium on Lake Michigan near Muskegon. In June, Bayfield, Wisconsin, and the Apostle Islands of Lake Superior are the venue for the Inland Sea Symposium. Both
Come and try it
8 Summer 2003
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