June 4-6, 2021
The FreeStyle season starts with an event that is actually not a FreeStyle event per se, but one which is certainly related – a “cousin” to the Symposia, you might say. This is the Western Pennsylvania Solo Canoe Rendezvous, always the first full weekend of June at Cooper’s Lake Campground in Portersville/Slippery Rock PA.
As the name implies, this event focuses on solo canoes in particular, but tandems are certainly welcome too, and they are always part of the mix.
The Rendezvous features a number of the very best of contemporary canoe manufacturers who’ve brought demo boats for folks to test paddle to their heart’s content, along with a number of privately owned classic boats, some of which you just don’t see that often.
While not a dedicated FreeStyle Instructional event like the Symposia, the Rendezvous has from its start had a very strong FS presence and flavor. There are always a number of FS instructors on hand to offer some informal classes in basic FS techniques, and there is usually an exhibition performance of Interpretive FreeStyle.
The Rendezvous is an excellent early-season opportunity for those new to FS to get a taste of what canoeing’s all about, tune up your paddling skills, and sample many of the very best solo canoes being made today in all of their diversity. It is a unique event, nothing quite like it anywhere in the nation. A chance to spend a long weekend in the company of canoes and canoe folks to the exclusion of all other reality. It’s a Very Nice Affair Indeed…
More information may be found at the Rendezvous’ own website: http://wpascr.org/