Events
Whitewater Festival 2018
The Ninth Annual Whitewater, held in June 2017, was a huge success. We are very excited to plan our Tenth Annual 2018 Whitewater Festival, happening June 29 to July 1, 2018! Stay tuned for more information.
The Whitewater Festival 2018 is happening June 29 to July 1. More details coming soon!
Make sure you get your tickets in advance. We have a limited number and would enjoy having you here!
General Information
The Whitewater Festival, hosted by Churchill River Canoe Outfitters, occurs the last weekend in June. The weekend is full of people running awesome waves and trying new things. Don't know if you have what it takes? Don't worry! There will be plenty of knowledgeable people willing to teach you how to get on that wave you have been eyeing up. Some may even take you with them! This event is fun for the entire family. The weekend also includes a supper and bands Hillsburn from Nova Scotia and The Barrelmen from Saskatoon Friday night on Barker Island.
Generally people paddle upstream, about 3 hours from the boat launch at Devil Lake, and camp close to the main base, Barker Island. We will have motorboat shuttles available for hire to bring people, playboats, and gear upstream. More information about this is posted below.
Itinerary
Friday, June 30:
This year we will be having our supper and band celebration to kick off the White Water Festival 2017. This is the day most people arrive and head up river to find a place to camp for the night.
- 6:30pm: Supper. Our caterer from Missinipe, Zac, will be serving a beef brisket on barker island. Last year we fed over 100 people on the island.
- 7pm: Hillsburn from Nova Scotia and The Barrelmen from Saskatoon.
- 11pm: People usually begin to make their way back to their campsites at this time.
Saturday, July 1:
Depending on water levels, we spend the day at several different sets of rapids. We run a number of short courses - everything from how to surf, to rolling, to front ferrying, to how to get on to a specific wave, to eddy turns, etc.
- 9:30am: Rendezvous at Barker Island to set up paddling plans for the day. Sign ups for paddling clinics can also happen at this time.
- 10am: Paddling clinic - Front Ferrys and Eddy turns
- 2pm: Paddling clinic - Surfing 101 (beginner and advanced)
- 5pm: Paddling clinic - Intro to Rolling
- 6:30pm: People will be meeting on Barker Island again for some evening fun. Bring your supper and your instruments too! There isn't a place better to jam with some interesting instruments in the company of other musicians/paddlers.
- 7:30pm: Prizes on Barker Island
Sunday, July 2:
Some of the more advanced paddlers, generally go further up river to some of the larger rapids. The others go back to the rapids that they had fun in before or the rapids that they had not managed to try.
- 9:30am: Rendezvouz at Barker Island
- 10am: Guided Paddling Excursions. There will be 3 options - Donaldson Channel, Three Sisters and Murray Channel. Possible Murray channel Koolaide Race!
By the late afternoon many are heading home.
(updated May 24th, 2017)
Quick Tips
- Make sure you like Churchill River Canoe Outfitters facebook page for updates about the festival and an invite to the event with more details
- Come prepared to get wet i.e. swimsuits, wetsuits, and warm clothes for in camp
- If you know you are coming already and don't have a map of the area, buy one now! No matter how many we stock in advance we tend to sell most of them during the weekend. You can buy a Barker Lake map on our Canoe Maps Canada Website.
