The latest kayaking film to feature the heart-pounding paddling insanity of Tao Berman is coming to Boise!   "Pulse," will debut at the new location of Inland Surf Company on Wednesday, April 9, 2008. 

“Pulse” contains footage from five television shows that followed Tao Berman, Josh Bechtel, Erik Boomer, and Todd Anderson around the Americas looking for huge waterfalls and first descents. Tao's own footage shows the team having fun and pulling off stunts that only the best extreme athletes seem to pull off.  Of special interest to local paddlers, “Pulse” contains a chapter with footage from the new video that Boise’s David Norell was working on before his untimely death. 

What better way to give back to a river where so many of us had our first paddling experiences. 

Base Camp Cullowhee is proud to present the 24^th Annual Tuckasegee River Clean-Up on April 19, 2008.  Come show your support for the community and the environment while having fun on the river.  The Tuck Clean-Up is the largest single day river clean up project in the nation, in the past years over 600 concerned volunteers have come out to show their support for the Tuckasegee River.  Volunteers have the option of walking a section of river bank and picking up trash or cleaning the river from a raft.  All rafting equipment is provided so just wear river appropriate clothes and get ready for some fun!

There will be a free T-shirt for the first 600 volunteers and a cookout at WCU on the University Lawn for all volunteers at 5:00 p.m. following the clean-up.  Although pre-registration is strongly encouraged, it is not required, and on-site registration will run from 11:00 a.m. to 1pm on the UC lawn the morning of the event.  Please visit us in Base Camp Cullowhee, East Wing of Brown Cafeteria, Monday through Friday 11:00 am- 5:00 p.m. to pre-register.  A one hundred dollar prize will be given to the largest organized group!  All volunteers are eligible for door prizes donated by local businesses, which will be given out at the picnic.  Winners must be present to receive door prizes, so make sure to stick around for the festivities.  For more information, please contact Jennifer Wright, Coordinator for the Tuckaseegee River Clean-Up at 828.227.3625.

Spokane River Kickoff

April 19^th, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

@ Corbin Park, Post Falls Idaho

          Due to the positive response to last year’s Corbin Kickoff, a group of local boaters got together this winter to plan another fun day to celebrate white water sports and bring together our great paddling community.  Come out to reconnect with old paddling buddies, meet new people to paddle with, share tales of the rivers, enjoy a free BBQ, check out the many local clubs and organizations involved in white water activities and much more.  Bring your Inflatables, Cats, Rafts, and Kayaks, and enjoy the Spokane River.    

          Admission for the event is free and there will plenty of fun activities for everyone.  There will be free professional in and out of water instruction provided by  EWU Epic Adventures.  Spokane River Rescue will be available to sign up for classes and professional rescue advice.  Peak 7 Adventures will have a booth showing how they, as a not for profit organization, use the outdoors to reach and help others.  Meet the club members and see what Northwest Whitewater Association and the Spokane Canoe and Kayak Club have to offer for their members.  See what Friends of the Falls is doing to help clean up our Spokane River and possibly bring a whitewater park into our area.  We are working on putting together information from the area Colleges showing what they have to offer in their outdoor programs.  Many vendors will be on site with the latest gear to be released this year and free demos will be available (Mountain Goat, Mountain Gear, Rapid Sports, NRS, and Bliss Stick have already confirmed their participation). 

          There will also be gear available to be raffled off with all donations going directly to the Friends of the Falls Spokane River Cleanup. 

          We also thank Post Falls Parks and Recreation for their support and assistance in making this event possible. 

Hope to see you all there, 

Steve

Also check our myspace page titled Spokane River Kickoff for pictures from last year’s event and information on this year’s.

A highlight for spring will be the 4^th Annual Nantahala Open, hosted by ERA, on Saturday, April 26^th. The Nantahala Open has gained the reputation as a fun competition; open to all boaters no matter the experience or ability, consisting of categories for every skill level--and the prizes that go along with them.  As if the Open was not enough fun, ERA will offer their facility for paddlers to hold an informal flea market for used paddling gear.

For more information, contact Brandy Baudrand at 828-488-6199, or KayakERA@aol.com

We hope to see you out there!