Hey Everyone! The University of Utah, and Utah State University Whitewater Clubs would like to invite you to the first annual Black Canyon of the Bear Whitewater Festival! Held on April 18, 2010 near Grace, Idaho, the festival will be in association with the American Whitewater Association and in cooperation with PacifiCorp power company. This event will be the first festival of it's kind held in this part of "The Whitewater State", and will also be the premier paddling event of the 2010 season in all of the Mountain West! The event will include a down river event held at the infamous "Booboo" rapid. Food and beer/beverage will be included with every raffle ticket purchase, along with a drawing for gear from our sponsors. We will top off the event with an awards ceremony for our down river competitors, and a live music performance by The Archers Apple!
Eastern Idaho is one of the last major paddling communities in the mountain-west to host a whitewater event of this magnitude. For being called the "Whitewater State", it's about time they live up to it. As You may know, in the last few years the AWA has been working with PacifiCorp to open up the flows for scheduled releases on the Black Canyon of the Bear River. On these release dates this otherwise trickle of water becomes an incredible Class IV/V stretch of river. You can learn more at
American Whitewater - Bear River Volunteer Recognition and New Releases! or
Black Canyon of the Bear. Paddlers come from miles and even states away to partake of this newly reborn gem.
The Festival will be a great way to kick off the season. However, while enjoying our chance to paddle such an incredible stretch of river, we wanted to help some people in need as well. This past fall I had the pleasure of visiting the students of Anupam Vidya School in Nepal. There are more than 350 kids between the ages of 6-18. It was a trip I'll never forget, and a place I plan to visit again soon. Upon meeting the students and visiting the school, I quickly realized that although these children are privileged to attend school at all in a place like Nepal, they are in need of some serious help. The proceeds from the festival, the race entrance fees, and the raffle, will go to help current students unable to afford the cost of private education (that is nearly all that exists in Nepal), and give potential students the financial aid to make their dreams of education a reality. Learn more at
Anupam Vidhya Sadan (AVS) : An English Medium Secondary Boardning School.
Now we understand that not everyone kayaks, and that even some that do, prefer not to on Sunday. To this we say, "great!" On this day we will still need the support of our friends and family to help the kids at AVS! Come for the food, the music, and the fun, knowing that you'll be helping those less fortunate than yourself!
Keep visiting the blog, blackcanyonbearwhitewaterfest.blogspot.com, to get more details on times, cost of the raffle, the competition, camp spots, and other general information! If you're interested in helping, we'll need it, so let me know!
Linear Mode
