The 13th edition of the Western Pennsylvania Solo Canoe Rendezvous, which like too many other events had to be canceled in 2020, happily resumed in 2021! And it was a rousing success, by any measure.
About 100 people attended, which event organizers Bruce Kemp, Anita LoVan, and Becky Sheeler consider a good turnout; folks from as far afield as Massachusetts, North Carolina, Northern Minnesota, and Colorado – 12 states in all – made the trip out! Three Canoe Builders, Dave Curtis of Hemlock Canoes, John Diller of Savage River Canoes, and Alex Comb of Stewart River Canoes, all had demo boats for test paddling, and a lot of people took advantage of the opportunity. Bruce commented, “That’s what this event is all about, getting people to try out all these extraordinary boats is why we do this.”
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The regional Three Rivers Chapter of the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association also had a display of beautifully restored vintage canoes, which is always interesting. Many privately-owned boats were available for test paddling as well, including the no-longer-made Curtis Dragonfly and Mayfly, a Pat Moore Proem, and many more than I can name.
While not an instructional event per se, the unstructured nature of the event enables people to take advantage of the offered instruction from the many instructors who were on site, and many people did so. Informal paddling instruction ranged from Beginner to FreeStyle level, and a side show was a Throw Rope demonstration and practice session, which is always a hoot!
A fascinating and informative discussion with Dave Curtis and Becky Sheeler on the history and development of solo canoes -their design and construction – and solo paddling techniques from the 1970s to the present day was a living history experience for those in attendance.
There was an impromptu exchange of tunes between a couple of banjo players Friday night, followed by a small, short jam session, then more music happened Saturday night, with the Floating And Amorphous FreeStyle Canoe String Band comprised (this time) of Bruce Kemp on Guitar, John Diller on harmonicas, Jesse Sousa on ukulele, Brian (didn’t get his last name) on mandolin, Marc Ornstein and Molly Gurien on vocals, and Paul Klonowski on banjo. They were a bit rougher around the edges than usual, but then the band hasn’t played together for well over a year, and was missing some key vocalists (hint: join in!)…
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As advertised, it was, once again, A Very Nice Affair, Indeed… and being the first major canoe event for many of us in a long time, it seemed better than usual!
Photo credits: Bruce Kemp and Steve Johnson