Paddle To The Sea - dinner & a movie

Join me in screening Bill Mason’s – Paddle To The Sea, a film that, in my early childhood, profoundly developed my romance for journeying and paddling the waterways of our great nation.

Hi everyone, I hope you are well, and sitting on the edge of your seat, ready to get back out on the water. Only the desperate or well insulated are in their boats right now, so I’m hosting a Bill Mason paddling movie night & potluck at my house to get a little wound up about the 2016 paddling season.

Bill Mason was a renowned Canadian canoeist, a naturalist, and a pioneer in wilderness adventure filming. Though I never met the Canadian legend, I did have the honour of sharing a few meals with his son, Paul, during a week of whitewater canoeing at MKC, some years ago. There was no doubt in my mind, he was heavily influenced by his father’s love of paddling, but Paul’s skills and interests were rather, much more extreme (see Thrill of The Paddle).

I have a selection of movies to get us motivated to get on the water soon and perhaps we can all develop a little romance with paddling ourselves. Canoe or kayak, it doesn’t matter, just as long as it takes us out there. There’s films like Path of the Paddle, Song of the Paddle, and, of course, my favourite...Paddle to the Sea! We could also see a film on classic solo canoeing - what I call canoe ballet, starring his daughter, Becky. There’s Cry of the Wild and Death of a Legend, for those of you that share Bill Mason’s wonderment of wolves, mine too, and my son’s middle name – Wolf. I didn’t realize I had so many paddling/outdoor movies, but if someone wants to pull an all-nighter, then be my guest, there’s Grey Owl, Into The Wild and Without A Paddle. Actually that last one is a little lame…Why’d I buy that one?

For those that can't make it to the monthly meetings, it's a perfect time to talk about the awesome trips we had together in 2015, and to make plans for new adventures this summer. We’ll also be making a bit of a Tyro paddlin' reunion out of this night. Tyro 20 Rules! There will be skulls.

One advance word of caution though…if my beloved Kentucky Wildcats make it to the Final Four, for the game on Apr 2nd, we’ll be breaking out the blue face paint and cheering along with the rest of the Big Blue Nation. Go Cats!

Please use this link to add your favourite app, main, dessert or edible camp grub, to the potluck food table. Note – I already have Jiffy Pop!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pWRgve1BrbY5CR7A4NXfrRLb-xAhuFbhOk1nqUoJDVU/edit?usp=sharing

There’s lots of space for out-of-towners or over indulgers to stay overnight...just bring your own sleeping bag & pillow. There’s also lots of room for tenting in the backyard too.

Due to it's nature of the event and that it'll be in a private residence, there unfortunately is a limit to the size of this event, sorry, but please respect the RSVP list. It’s located in the east end of Waterloo, near RIM Park, and an email with additional details and the address will be sent after RSVP’s close.

See you soon.

Tom