THE FIRST ANNUAL BIG BEAR LAKE PADDLEFEST

Has been scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, July 12 and 13

Big Bear Lake, California –– The first annual Big Bear Lake PaddleFest has been scheduled to take place Saturday and Sunday, July 12 and 13, 2008 Jim Dooley with North Shore Trading Company announced today. This inaugural event will take place on Big Bear Lake’s northern shore and will culminate with a six-mile paddle race. “We wanted to hold a weekend-long event that would be equally fun for serious paddle enthusiasts and those new to the sports of kayaking and canoeing,” said Janet Dooley with North Shore Trading Company.

The weekend event will offer pre-race-day activities on Saturday, July 12th, including on-water clinics for beginner and advanced paddlers taught by local kayak instructors, boat demos with Emotion and Seda kayaks, an outdoor-industry sports exhibit with Keen Footwear, Dannuu Canoe and Kayak Covers, and Smith Optics; and an evening presentation by photographers Cathleen Calkins and Scott Cordner of their kayak expedition to Central Siberia’s Lake Baikal. The race, scheduled for Sunday, July 13th, is open to all levels of paddlers. The course is set to begin and finish at Captain John’s Fawn Harbor Marina in Grout Bay taking racers through an out and back route to the Big Bear Lake dam inside the 5-mile buoy markers. Sunday’s event will also include a raffle of prizes from Big Bear Valley area business owners. An award’s ceremony for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishers in the female and male kayak categories as well as the canoe category will take place at the finish of the race.

For more information including registration details, kayak and canoe rentals or to be an exhibitor, please contact Jim or Janet Dooley at (909) 866-3414, or online at www.gopaddleacanoe.com.

About North Shore Trading Company

The North Shore Trading Company (NSTC) is located on the North Shore of Big Bear Lake in the village of Fawnskin. The retail store specializes in lightweight wooden canoes, Kevlar canoes and kayaks, rowing boats, and boating accessories. NSTC also carries clothing by Patagonia, Woolrich, FDJ French Dressing, and Keen Footwear, as well as jewelry by local artisans and cabin décor.