Registration is now open for the Port Angeles Kayak & Film Festival, set for April 12-13 in Port Angeles.
Local water sports shops Adventures Through Kayaking, Olympic Raft & Kayak and Sound Bikes & Kayaks have teamed up to create the first Port Angeles Kayak & Film Festival. This is the only event like it in the country, highlighting and promoting all categories of paddling, from sea and lake to river and surf.
The weekend kicks off on the evening of April 11 at BarHop Brewing, where people can gather information and do last-minute registrations.
The main event takes place at Hollywood Beach, with a wide range of kayaks and paddleboards to try and purchase, where classes meet, an obstacle race will commence and representatives from water sports-related companies will be on hand to answer questions.
The beach will be open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Sunday. The event is offered as either an all-inclusive ticket or people can register a la carte. Only at the Port Angeles Kayak & Film Festival can people learn about kayak fishing, take an Eskimo rolling class, get educated on tides and currents, or learn how to land their craft in surf.
On Saturday evening, watch acclaimed films of folks doing amazing feats and see legendary explorer and keynote speaker Chris Duff talk about his expeditions. The film festival is held at the Gateway Transit Center in downtown Port Angeles from 4-7 p.m. on April 12. The Next Door Gastro Pub is providing food and beverages for the viewing. Duff, the keynote speaker, is hosted by the Red Lion Inn and starts at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday April 12. A no-host bar will be available. Tickets for the films and speaker are $10 for both events.
Duff’s kayaking expeditions include an 8,000-mile solo trip around the eastern third of the U.S. and Canada as well as solo circumnavigation of Ireland and New Zealand. In 1986 he became the first person to sea kayak around Great Britain alone. Duff is the author of two books: “On Celtic Tides,” an award-winning account of his Ireland trip; and “Southern Exposure,” a chronicling of an New Zealand journey that won the National Outdoor Book Award, the Benjamin Franklin award and the Banff Mountain Book Festival Grand Prize.
“We are so pleased to bring an event of this caliber to Port Angeles,” says Tammi Hinkle, owner of Adventures Through Kayaking. “It’s one-of-a-kind; no other event in the country highlights and promotes all classes of paddling. We hope to introduce a lot of new paddlers to the sport, to help seasoned paddlers learn new skills, to entertain, and to come back and do it all again next year.”
There are more than 24 classes offered and participants are encouraged to register online at www.portangeleskayakandfilmfestival.com. Beach and festival passes start at $10. An all-inclusive pass, good for an unlimited number of classes and entry to the film festival, keynote presentation and Demo Beach, is available for $100.
Class descriptions, requirements, cost and instructors also are listed on the website.
For more information, call 417-3015. See the website for a full schedule of events and classes.
