Canoecopia 2011

It’s the weekend for Canoecopia, an annual event held at the Alliant Center in Madison where hundreds of winter weary people gather to think about summer, outdoor camping, canoeing, and traveling to wilderness areas to get away from it all for a few days.

Canoecopia is billed as the world’s largest paddlesports expo. Sponsored by an outdoor supply store in Madison with the rather exotic name of Rutabaga, visitors to the three day show can leave behind the waning days of winter by checking out new canoes and kayaks, paddles of various shapes and prices, life vests, appropriate clothing , new ideas for backpacks and much, much more.

Visitors can also listen to a vast array of speakers (I was one of them) talk about everything from their new books (I shared stores from my book, CAMPFIRES AND LOON CALLS) to camping in the Grand Canyon, Treasures of the Apostle Islands, Essential Equipment for Paddling and How to Build Your Own Canoe.

The show provides three days of escaping winter, propelling visitors to a time when they are sitting on a high point overlooking a lake with waves lapping the rocks below their campsite, and a loon calling in the distance as the sun slips slowly below the horizon to the west.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: I need to hear the call of the loon at least once a year to remind me that everything is not as bad as it may sometimes appear.

CHECK THIS OUT: Plan to attend the launch party for CAMPFIRES AND LOON CALLS at Barnes and Noble West in Madison on Tuesday, March 15 at 7:00 p.m. Ruth is making chocolate chip cookies for the event. (We take chocolate chip cookies along on our wilderness camping trips).

COMING EVENTS:

March 15, 10:30 a.m. Eager Free Library, Evansville, WI.

March 15, 7:00 p.m. Barnes and Noble, Madison West. (Launch for Campfires and Loon Calls).

March 17, 2:00-4:00. Monroe Arts Center, Monroe. Memories into Memoirs—Writers’ Workshop.

March 17, 7:00 p.m. Monroe Arts Center. (Our Rural Heritage).

March 20, 7:00 p.m. Lebanon Historical Society, Fire Station, New Lebanon. (Horse Drawn Days).

March 23, 1:00 p.m., New Berlin Banquet and Conference Center. Learning in Retirement.

March 26, 9:30 a.m., Richland County Electric Co-op, Richland Center High School
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March 29, 7:00 p.m. Manawa Public Library. (In a Pickle).

April 1, 7:00 p.m. Oconto Falls Library. (Stories from the Land)

April 2, 9:00-11:00 Oconto Falls Library. (Writing workshop: Writing Family Stories)

April 5, 6:00 p.m. Salem Public Library (Stories from the Land)