By Paul Lang
I am writing about an event that us canoe people would almost surely be interested in, The Quiet Activities Symposium. Typically held on the grounds of Michigan State University on the first Saturday in March, it is one of the Midwest’s most attended paddling related events. In past years it was a chance for vendors to show off their paddling related wares, and for speakers both obscure and well known (at least to the paddling related community) to help the rest of us shake off the mid winter blahs with various outdoor and paddling related presentations. Due to the pandemic, this year’s event has gone virtual, with five evenings of presentations beginning on February 23 and ending on February 27. Despite the event being largely Midwest-centric, I made the pilgrimage to last year’s event, and it was great to reconnect with old friends, and there were more interesting and overlapping presentations going on than I could have possibly attended – and I am jazzed to be able to see more due to this year’s event having gone virtual. 2021’s headline speakers include Cliff Jacobson, Kevin Callan, and Hap Wilson. The books written by each of these gents deserves a place on every canoeist’s library, and I am especially excited to hear from Hap, as I have read a number of his books but have never heard him speak.
I believe that the membership of the Rocky Mountain Canoe Club would find much to be educated and entertained by in this year’s virtual presentation. The cost is $10.00 and the proceeds go to an eminently worthy cause. Details can be found at Quiet Water Society