With all the snow falling down on Williams Lake standup paddleboarding may or may not be top of mind.
Nevertheless, local paddleboard competitor and enthusiast is hoping to get people stoked for this year’s standup paddleboarding season and has organized a film festival taking place Monday, Feb. 27, at the Central Cariboo Arts Centre.
Swift was the mastermind behind last year’s first-ever Witches on Williams Lake Paddle in October.
“This event is an opportunity for the paddle community to get together in the off-season, build stoke for spring, and fundraise for the 2023 Witches on Williams Lake Paddle,” Swift said.
“The hope is that funds raised will help with securing prizes that support local paddlers in safely getting out on the water.”
The For the Love of Paddling Film Fest is a one-of-kind local film fest that features a mix of older standup paddleboarding (SUP) films and 2022 entries to Paddle Canada’s Waterwalker Film festival.
The Waterwalker Film Festival was initiated in 1987 by Bill Mason, an internationally recognized canoeist, environmentalist, filmmaker, photographer, artist, and public speaker.
Paddle Canada donates the fees paid for screening their festival to the Bill Mason Memorial Scholarship – an annual scholarship of $2,000 that assists with the education of tomorrow’s environmental stewards.
Unfortunately, the most recent iteration of the Waterwalker Film Festival did not include any SUP films, Swift said.
“To remedy this, a selection of excellent older SUP films were thrown into the mix, which makes sense for an event hosted by a local SUP group, SUP in the Puddle.”
SUP in the Puddle is an online hub for stand up paddle-boarding enthusiasts in and around Williams Lake.
Group members participate in weekly paddles in the summer, travel to SUP events around the province, and host the Witches on Williams Lake Paddle in October.
We asked what viewers can expect with the fim festival?
When doors open at 6 p.m. participants will be greeted with information about water safety, local watersports retailers, and service providers, Swift explained.
Films start at 6:30 p.m. with a 15-minute intermission after the first hour of films.
This first half of the event will feature a SUP comedy filmed in Tofino, reflections of kayaker from a family of championship paddlers, insight into a white-water rafting program for former gang members, and Norm Hann’s award-winning SUP film, STAND.
During the intermission, participants are invited to hang out and enjoy snacks provided by the Potato House.
The second half of the event will kick off with white-water SUP paddling around Prince George, followed by the story of the first person ever to hike – and packraft – the entire length of the longest esker in the world.
An esker, according to Google, is a long ridge of gravel and other sediment, typically having a winding course, deposited by meltwater from a retreating glacier or ice sheet.
The evening winds down with a short SUP surfing film and closes with the inspirational life story of Sheri and the hurdles she’s overcome to launch her packraft company.
Swift said the family friendliness of the event is at the discretion of guardians, as some films discuss the environmental impact of oil spills, feature former gang members, and display images of gnarly bug bites.
Tickets, cash only, are available at Red Shreds Bike and Board Shed and whatever are left will be availalbe at the door.
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monica.lamb-yorski@wltribune.com
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