Paddlers are ready to battle on the Mattagami River this weekend.
The Great Canadian Kayak Challenge and Festival is setting up at Participark on the banks of the river Aug. 23 to 25.
From reeling in the fishing community, to fun for the kids in the park, the annual festival has a lot to offer.
Admission to the festival grounds is free.
Here are some other things to know about the event:
What to expect
There are children's actvities, live entertainment, market place and community exhibits, classic car show, a fishing pavilion, and Harley Davidson display and demo rides. On the water, aside from the races there will also be some entertainment. Sunday there will be three, 40-minute water ski and fly-board stunt shows.
When to go
The festival gates are open Friday from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Saturday, the action starts at 6 a.m. with an Indigenous sunrise ceremony. Along with the races, there are activities and entertainment being offered until 1 a.m.
Sunday's events run from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. A full festival schedule is available here.
Parking
Tourism Timmins manager of tourism and events noted parking is limited. There are two parking lots at the bottom of Commercial Avenue, as well as the northwest lot of Participark, the Mountjoy Arena, and in the Game On/Ford parking lot across the road from the park. No public parking will be allowed in the south lots of the park that are along Riverside Drive. There is also on-street parking.
Shuttles
Lamarche encourages people to take public transportation when possible. First Student Canada Charters is also offering a festival shuttle service.
The routes are:
- Canadian Tire, the Timmins Square, and Cedar Meadows to the festival on the half hour
- Porcupine Mall, Royal Canadian Legion, and McIntyre Arena to the festival on the hour
- Delvillano Park, Confederation, and Archie Dillon Sportsplex to the festival on the half hour
The shuttle drop off and pick up area is the Craig Street Trail.
Bring an appetite
Eight food vendors, both local and from other places across Ontario, are confirmed to be there.
Registration deadline
The deadline to register has changed this year and is Friday, Aug. 23 at 4 p.m. There are paddlers ranging in age from nine years old to 70. As of yesterday, there were 79 registrations for Saturday's challenge received. Lamarche is expecting to be busy as more registrations come in up to the deadline.
"I am hoping that we will field another 60 registrations between now and then. I’m obviously optimistic based on historical data and hopefully I am right,” he said.
For the registered paddlers, he said 69 per cent are from Timmins, while 31 per cent are from other markets.
Fireworks
Keep your eyes on the sky Saturday night as the show is slated to start at 9:30 p.m. The Mattagami River will be closed from the bridge to Eacom from 9 to 10 p.m. to allow for the display. Riverside Drive between Norman Street and Theriault will closed from 8 - 10 p.m. Eastbound traffic should detour at Shirley Street, with westbound traffic detouring at Highway 655 or Theriault Boulevard.
River access
There will be restricted public access to the Mattagami and Mountjoy Rivers during the festival. Lamarche said the boat launch and public beach area will be closed to the general public Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. He said people accessing the water from private docks are asked to exercise extreme caution.
Licensed event
There will be a beer tent on site. Lamarche noted that unless alcohol is purchased and consumed in the licensed area, it is prohibited in the park.
Learn to drop a line
Lamarche is happy with the number of professional fisherman taking part. Saturday and Sunday, he said there will be a high-tech fishing simulator.
“So if you’ve never fished and you want that fishing experience without getting on the water, that’s the place to get it,” he said.
He said there will also be seminars aimed at young children, young families and new Canadians.
"This is our small way of helping industry build some fishing capacity for tomorrow,” he said.
The full festival schedule, race times, and more is available here.
