Hiawatha Paddling Festival September 14-16

Plans are being made for the first Hiawatha Paddling Festival in Cedarville Friday, September 14, through Sunday, September 16. Activities will be staged at Cedar Campus, seven miles east of Cedarville.

Participants are encouraged to register before August 1. Kayak and canoe paddling lessons, survival skills, outdoor cooking, bonfires, and a concert by folk and jazz singer Claudia Schmidt of Traverse City will highlight the event.

The event will be based at the rustic retreat facility along the northern Lake Huron shore. Registered participants can stay onsite in the Cedar Campus lodges, or camp on the premises. All weekend meals are included in the registration fee, and will be cooked and served at the facility's dining hall.

Activities will include demonstrations of kayak and canoeing skills and techniques, fitness and tai chi for paddlers, and places to go by kayak or canoe in Les Cheneaux and around the Great Lakes, among other sessions.

Non-paddlers may attend presentations on nature photography, waterfowl and raptor identification, and back-country gourmet cooking lessons.

Entertainment will include an evening concert by renowned Michigan vocalist and songwriter Claudia Schmidt Friday, September 14. Ms. Schmidt has recorded 16 albums and performed around the Midwest. She has performed on Garrison Keillor's national radio program, "A Prairie Home Companion." She sings, and plays guitar and dulcimer.

The concert will be open to the public as a stand-alone event from the kayak festival. Admission will be $7.50, and will include blueberry cobbler with ice cream during intermission. A campfire and local music will be provided Saturday night.

Woods and Water Ecotours owner Jessie Hadley is organizing the event, with support from local business owners and the Les Cheneaux Chamber of Commerce.

The goal of the festival is to teach paddling and nature appreciation to the public, Ms. Hadley said. Courses with names like Finding Nature, Wilderness Survival Skills - Stranded on an Island, and Anatomy of a Canoe will offer both new and experienced paddlers learning opportunities.

Detailed information and registration prices are at www.kayakfest. org, or by contacting Ms. Hadley at (906) 484-4157, or at the outfitter shop on Pickford Avenue in Hessel.

There is a discount for registering before August 1.