Canoe Day: Geography Explains Canoe’s Endurance
24 Jun
As Canada anticipates its annual National Canoe Day on Friday, June 26, the London Free Press in Ontario finds that the importance of the canoe in aboriginal, historic, and present-day Canada owes much to the northern nation’s geography.
In William Wolfe-Wylie’s story, HERE, Canadian Canoe Museum executive director James Raffan explains that in a country crossed by rivers, dotted with lakes, and punctuated by manageable portages, small watercraft were the ideal conveyance.
“Canada is a nation of rivers,” Raffan said. “Anywhere in the country there was a need to communicate and travel, and people looked to local materials. It was usually a canoe that resulted.”
Indeed, in 2007, the canoe was named one of Canada’s “seven wonders” by a CBC poll. The first National Canoe Day, honoring the handy little wonder, took place last year.
The official web site for National Canoe Day is HERE.
National Canoe Day events are planned across Canada. Find a map of events HERE.
There’s even an official National Canoe Day song — yep, a song! — HERE.
