Canoes and kayaks converge in Aurora

Photo by Frank Schier

Hope everyone made it to the Second Annual Aurora Paddlesport Festival in Aurora, June 12 and 13. Standard canoes and kayaks set this photo’s foreground for the Voyager canoe, a crew-style of canoe used by Native Americans, pioneer explorers and fur trappers and traders. The Illinois Paddling Council (IPC) sponsored the event at Aurora’s beautiful Phillips Park, showcasing a wide variety of human-powered boats, paddling clubs, and the local paddlesport retailers. Phillips Park’s manmade “Mastodon Lake” provided a clean, safe place to try out canoes and kayaks or take a class on how to paddle, in betwee the rainstorms that challenged the festival. Sponsored by the IPC, the Chicago Area Sea Kayaking Association and the City of Aurora, 29 organizations and businesses were represented. The festival also featured Illinois’ first local paddling film fest. For more info, go to www.illinoispaddling.org.