Paddling Festivals in Washington

Water pollution deserves a paddling…in a kayak made of plastic bottles

By Carolyn Price

Photo at right: Tacoma’s Ken Campbell paddled 150 miles through Puget Sound on his kayak made of single-use plastic bottles to bring awareness to pollution in our Cascadian waters. Courtesy of Ikkatsu Project, www.ikkatsuproject.org

 

Tacoma paddler Ken Campbell will keynote this year’s Port Angeles Kayak and Film Festival April 18 –19 about his 150-mile paddling journey from Olympic to Bellingham last year in a kayak constructed of discarded single-use plastic bottles.

Message in a Plastic Bottle is the documentary account of a unique small-boat adventure focused on the affects that plastic is having in the world’s oceans, as well as in our Cascadian waters.

Campbell’s film is the third of his Ikkatsu Project. His presentation is scheduled from 7:30 –9 p.m., April 18 at Maier Performance Hall at Peninsula College in Port Angeles.

This festival features 16 films, paddling instruction and demos. Films are free; beach demos are $10 per person.

For more epic kayak and water-sports films, West Seattle’s Mountain to Sound Outfitters is showcasing the world’s best paddling films in its Reel Paddling Film Festival, a one-evening extravaganza April 24.

Head to Lake Sammamish State Park in Issaquah May 8 –9 for the Northwest Paddling Festival, the largest event of its kind in the Northwest. Featuring more than 60 paddle-sports businesses offering canoes, kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, paddling equipment, accessories and gear, festival entry is free and cost is $7 per day to demo canoes, kayaks and SUP’s beachside.

A new event on the OutdoorsNW radar this year is the Seafair NW Paddling Championship Aug. 1 at Genesee Park on Lake Washington—a culmination of five SUP races during the year.

Learn about Washington state’s first National Water Trail System around the Kitsap Peninsula through a series of paddling events including Unleash the Beast at Port Gamble, May 23; Kitsap Peninsula Water Trails Festival, June 27; Paddle Bainbridge, July 10 and Paddle Kitsap, Aug. 15.

Resources:

Ikkatsu Project: www.ikkatsuproject.org/
Kitsap National Water Trails System: www.nps.gov/WaterTrails/Trail/Info/51

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