With the weather warming up during lockdown, you can safely bet that many people are turning to the rivers and portages for much-needed respite from the pandemic.
In previous years, Friends of La Vase Portages (FOLVP) would have hosted 70-80 people at the Annual “Canoe Night” to celebrate the start of the paddling and exploration season.
“Canoe Night was always an entertaining and informative evening that engaged people whether they had an interest in canoeing, culture, history, or the outdoors in general” says Bernie Stockermans, Chair of FOLVP.
“After missing out on our events in 2020, we worked at developing a new way to safely ‘partage’ (French word meaning: share) with everyone: especially since there’s a notable rise in the popularity of outdoors activities these days.”
A new virtual speaker series FOLVP has created is being offered for free. Speakers will share knowledge and stories pertaining to canoeing, outdoors, conservation, equipment, and future plans to protect the historical route between Trout Lake and Lake Nipissing.
"The La Vase Portages is a 14 km (8.7 mile) section of the historic Voyageur canoe route, which connects Trout Lake and Lake Nipissing. The Route was used thousands of years ago by First Nations in Ontario at the time of European contact. Europeans, including Etienne Brule and Samuel de Champlain learned of the route from First Nations guides and it was soon established as a major artery into the interior of North America," says the Discovery Routes website.
If interested, you can visit the group’s website and Facebook page for details and request a zoom link.
