Dragon Boat Festival - fun on the river for the whole family! There’s nothing quite like a dragon boat race! If you’re in Nashville, TN on August 23, you’re in luck! If you’re not…get there! This will be a paddling event extraordinaire.

If you want to race, teams are still being registered for this great event.

If you just want to experience the fun atmosphere and spend a day on the Cumberland River, come on down. This is an event for the whole family.

 

Here are the details for the 2008 Nashville Dragon Boat Festival:

When: Saturday, August 23, 2008

Where: Riverfront Park, Nashville, Tennessee

What: Opening Ceremony 8:30 AM - Races Start at 9:00 AM

 

Teams of 22 people will race along the Cumberland and need your help to cheer them along. Bring your friends and family down for a fun day celebrating our wonderful Cumberland River. Opening ceremony at 8:30. Races begin at 9:00 with the Grand Championship Finale at approximately 3:45

Who Benefits: The Cumberland River Compact

Click Here to Register for or Learn More about the Nashville Dragon Boat Festival

What’s The Cumberland River Compact?

The mission of the Cumberland River Compact is to enhance the water quality of the Cumberland River and its tributaries through education and by promoting cooperation among citizens, businesses, and agencies in Kentucky and Tennessee.

The Cumberland River is 697 miles long. The Cumberland River watershed covers 18,000 square miles and is home to almost 2 million people. Since 1997, the Compact has set out to create a Watershed Outreach Program in each of the 14 watersheds that make up the Cumberland Basin.

What is a watershed?

A watershed is the land area that drains into a stream. An area of land that contributes runoff to one specific delivery point; large watersheds may be composed of several smaller “subsheds,� each of which contributes runoff to different locations that ultimately combine at a common delivery point.

Click Here to Learn More About the Cumberland River Compact

Looking to enter or attend a kayak or canoe race?

Do you live near:

• Milford, Connecticut
• Auburn, New York
• San Antonio, Texas
• Port Gamble, Washington? 

Then you’re in luck! Listed below are races and events that are happening in August in these areas. Not to worry if you’re new to paddling, as there are some novice classes available also.

Kayaking & Canoeing in Milford, Connecticut

The 34th annual Milford Oyster Festival’s Canoe and Kayak will be held on Saturday August 16th in Milford Connecticut. The kayak race will be 5 miles and have separate men’s and women’s classes. The Canoe race will have a Racing Class and a Novice Class. The Canoe Racing Class is 4 miles and the Novice Canoe Class is 1 mile. This event sounds like a great opportunity for a paddler who has never entered a race before but wants to give it a try. **Register Early! The first 50 entries will receive an official Annual Milford Oyster Festival Canoe & Kayak Race t-shirt.

Click here for more information about the Annual Milford Oyster Festival Canoe and Kayak event. 

Run, Bike and Paddle in Auburn, New York

The Great Race also known as the 31st annual Captain Myles Keogh Paddle, Wheel & Run will be held on Sunday, August 10th on Owasco Lake, Auburn New York. This event is a Run, Bike and Paddle (Kayak or Canoe) Team Relay Race. There will be 5 different team triathlon relay races. The four person teams will choose from the traditional canoe race or a shorter canoe race. Three person teams will choose from the traditional kayak race or the short kayak race and they also have a two person canoe race.

Click here for more information on the Auburn, NY Bike, Run, Paddle event.

Team Canoeing in San Antonio, Texas

The Paseo del Rio Associations 40th annual Ford Canoe Challenge down the San Antonio River in San Antonio, Texas will be held on Saturday, August 16th. Over 90 teams compete in this canoe challenge. The race begins at the Chamber of Commerce, heads east through and around the Convention Center Lagoon then through the River Center Mall Lagoon and ending back at the chamber of commerce.

Click here for more information about Team Canoeing in San Antonio, TX.

2 Day Paddle from Port Gamble to Poulsbo, Washington

Paddle Kitsap is a 2 day fully supported paddle from Port Gamble to Poulsbo, Washington. August 1-2. According to their website Registration closed July 25th. After July 25th there is an additional charge if space is available.

Click here for more information about Paddle Kitsap.

Even if you’re not a racing paddler, these races and events are also fun to watch and cheer on fellow paddlers.

Are you interested in other paddling race and events? Click here for the canoe and kayak event and race page.

Want to find a Place to Paddle in your area? Click here for the places to paddle, canoe and kayak page.

Wherever you go, let us know! Click here to Contact BornToPaddle.com

This story was recently published in the New York daily news. In August, kayaker Erik Baard of Long Island City, will kayak around Long Island to raise money and awareness for Alzheimer’s disease.

Erik is propelled by the memory of a kind landlady from his childhood who taught him how to read and write, bought him school clothes and took him on weekend trips. Baard’s new 17 footer is aptly named “Gillie” (after the landlady).

“It’s a crime that someone who gave so many memories lost her own,” said the affable Baard, a journalist-turned-blogger who founded the Long Island City Community Boathouse.

“At some point, Gillie wasn’t able to understand the love she was receiving,” he said. “This is a way of taking the love that I have for her and giving it to other families.”

The trip will take at least 15 days and will span about 292 miles!

Erik, founder of the Long Island City Community Boathouse, will leave on August 13 from the World’s Fair Marina in Queens. All money Erik raises will go to the Alzheimer’s Foundation.

Click here to read the Daily News article.

Click here to donate to the Long Island Alzheimer’s Foundation.

Click here to track Erik on his epic journey of love.

Good luck Erik! Safe travels!

Check out this great article by Keith Benoist from KayakMississippi.com, home of the upcoming Phatwater Challenge:

Kayaking isn’t for everybody. There just isn’t enough room. Imagine, six billion people all trying to launch at the same time.

Sure, there’s plenty of shoreline in the world, plenty of open water, plenty of Rocky Mountain springs trickling to the sea. But you line six billion people up with a paddle at the same time and fire the gun, and, next thing you know, WHAM. Head injury. A pair of broken sunglasses at the very least. “Your Honor, my client has been grievously injured by the defendant. We are seeking damages and punitive awards in the amount of —�

I don’t know if lawyers kayak…(click here to read the rest of this great article)

Here’s a chance for canoe and kayak adventure and commeraderie. From November 8 - 15, 2008, Paddle Florida’s “Big Shoals to Branford” event promises to be a great trip. Up to 200 registered participants will paddle an average of 13 miles per day and camp out each night along Florida’s beautiful and historic Suwannee River.

If you can’t do the full week of paddling, the organizers are offers a “lite” package, which lets you join the trip for just a few days at almost any point.

This is only the second event of its kind to be held on the Suwannee and registration is limited at the 200 number, so if you’re interested, we suggest you get registered soon.

If you’d like more information, see the route map, or find out how to register, visit the event’s comprehensive web site: PaddleFlorida.org.

If you have a great Place to Paddle that you’d like to share with the BornToPaddle.com community, just send us the information using our handy Contact Us form.

Or if you’re looking for a Place to Paddle in your area or in any part of the U.S., just go to our Places to Paddle page, where we have awesome spots for canoers and kayakers listed by state.

Also be sure to check out our Kayak and Canoe Events and Races page, our listing of Whitewater Kayak Parks, and our Kayak and Canoe Trip / Adventure Travel page.

BornToPaddle.com is here for you - to help you get started paddling whether your favorite boat is a canoe or a kayak, to give you some tips for safe and happy paddling, and to offer you some great deals on paddling equipment, kayaks, canoes, clothing, books, magazines, DVDs and gifts for paddlers, and paddling gear just for kids too. If there is some paddling information that you don’t find here, please use our Contact Us form to let us know about it. We’ll do our best to find the info you need. We want to be your source for all things paddle!