The Hiawatha Paddling Festival will promote kayaking, canoeing, and water safety Friday, September 12, through Sunday, September 14, at Cedar Campus, about seven miles east of Cedarville. Registration, which begins at $200 for adults, will be accepted through September 12. Meals are included in the registration fee.

The festival is open the public Friday evening, starting at 7:15 p.m. Kimberli Bindchantel of Whisper in the Woods Nature Journal will present nature photography. Blueberry cobbler will be served at 8 p.m., followed by entertainment by the Peacemeal Bluegrass Band at 8:30 p.m. Suggested donations are $10.

The event, geared for beginning boaters, will include both land and water classes. There will be a presentation on wooden boat building by Bill Schoon. There will also be campfires, saunas, and stargazing.

Classes will cover paddling techniques, strokes, rescue techniques, and boating safety. On land, students will learn about proper apparel, how to navigate, how to anticipate wind, waves, and other weather factors, signaling for help, and good paddling locations.

The team of instructors are seasoned boaters, including Jessie Hadley, Lori Stegmier, Ken Bruland, Jo Foley, and Belinda Lee.

Boater fitness, a feature of the event, will be addressed in a presentation by Phil Loesch, who heads the sports enhancement division at Northern Michigan Sports Medicine Center in Petoskey. The event will end with a brief outing on Prentiss Bay and an open session in which instructors will help students on aspects of the sport they would like to focus on.

Event organizer Jessie Hadley suggests participants bring a sea kayak or a kayak with bulkhead flotation. Her business, Woods and Water Ecotours, is sponsoring the event in association with the Les Cheneaux Chamber of Commerce and the Les Cheneaux Islands Tourism Association.

Registration and other information can be obtained by contacting Ms. Hadley at (906) 484-4157.