The Great Canoe Race & Picnic: Recap

Saturday, August 27th marked our first annual Canoe Race and Picnic at Whonnock Lake. We want to thank everyone that came out. Whether you came to paddle or just to watch, you made the event a success! ...if you didn't make it out this year, the good news is you'll have another chance to participate next summer! 

The Great Canoe Race & Picnic is the CEED Centre Society's newest annual fundraiser! The money raised goes toward the ongoing operation of our free community programming offered out of the CEED Centre Neighbourhood House in Port Haney, Maple Ridge.

• Seniors Activity Group for seniors with dementia and their caregivers. The focus of the group is fun and laughter. This group meets every Tuesday from 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM.
• Warren's Free Art Workshop is a drop-in program running from 12:30 PM to 3:00 PM, for community members to come and dedicate some time to their creative art projects. 
• Weekly Community Discussion forum is open to all community members to come and join us from 10:00 AM to Noon for coffee and local treats and lively discussion on a variety of topics selected by participants.
• Blue Door Youth Services are open and available to youth who are homeless, at-risk of homelessness or dealing with mental health issues. 

We had two teams of six that competed in a relay race, with three in the canoe at any given time! Then after the high-speed action, we got to watch as Christian, Richard and Gerry attempted to demonstrate the art of gunnel bobbing. For those of you that are unfamiliar with gunnel bobbing, it requires you to be in a canoe by yourself, without a paddle, before you skillfully balance yourself on the gunnels and proceed to bounce up and down. The action propels the canoe forwards (when done correctly)! When done incorrectly, it's just fun to watch. A few people got wet, testimony to the difficulty of the task (or skill level...).

After the races were done, we gathered in the gazebo and enjoyed hot dogs, hamburgers, salmon burgers or veggie burgers, fresh off the grill and got to enjoy the afternoon at Whonnock Lake, before distributing the medals to each team. 

Something that made this event special were the participants from one of our youth programs, who joined us as volunteers for the day. They played a huge part in the execution of the event and we are really grateful for their help! We also want to extend our thanks to Rick Hammer, who provided us with canoes, personal flotation devices and paddles for the event. 

As  you check out some of the pictures from the race, start thinking about who you want on your team in next years race!