Paddle Opportunities at Helena Blues Festival this weeekend

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Description:

In coordination with the annual King Biscuit Blues Festival (Arkansas Blues & Heritage Fest) Quapaw Canoe Company will be offering continuous guided tours of beautiful Buck Island each day Friday through Sunday, Oct 10th – Oct 12th. Three-hour round trip tours offered every day at 7am (sunrise tour), 10:00am, 1:00pm, and 4pm sunset tour. Meet place is the Helena Harbor Boat Ramp. Cost is $35 per person. Knowledgeable river guides on board as interpreters of natural & cultural history. No previous canoeing experience necessary. Paddle when you feel like it. Come prepared for sun exposure. Dress for the weather. Carry a snack and some drinking water in a personal satchel or daypack. Swimming is possible from island beaches, bring swim gear & towel. Great for beach combing, rock hounding, fossil-finding, birding, animal tracking, and much more.



Quapaw Canoe Company will also have canoes & kayaks for rent throughout the festival at the boat ramps in the Helena Harbor or at 411 Ohio Street, and can provide shuttles to the mouth of the St. Francis River (a stunning nine-mile run on the main channel of the Mississippi River into Helena via Buck Island).



Buck Island (Prairie Point Towhead) is the most recent addition to the Lower Mississippi River Water Trail being established by the American Land Conservancy. Buck Island is topped with 1500 acres of prime bottomland hardwood forest and is surrounded by a dynamic sandbar floodplain which is lacerated with secret inlets and back channels full of fishes, amphibians and water birds. At low water gigantic sandbars emerge, mudbars, gravel bars, and miles and miles of beaches to explore. Go to http://www.alcnet.org" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for more information.



Arkansas Blues & Heritage Fest (King Biscuit) is one of the best blues festivals on Mother Earth, with 3 stages scattered around historic downtown Helena -- and it’s located on the river! No charge for admission. 3 days of free blues & gospel music. The main stage is located on the levee in downtown Helena, and there is riverside camping, walking trails, fishing – and as of this Summer with the opening of Quapaw Helena you can rent a canoe or kayak and go paddling on the big river. http://www.bluesandheritage.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



The Mississippi River & the Blues – Helena has the best of both!



For more information, call John Fewkes (870) 228-2266 or John Ruskey (662) 902-7841.



Details:



What?

3-hour guided tour of Buck Island in 27-foot long Voyageur Style Canoe.

Incredible views of Crowley’s Ridge and the Helena Bridge. Good swimming. Endless roaming on sandbars. Beach combing. Great Birding. Animal tracking. Cloud watching. Day dreaming. The paddle to Buck Island will blow your mind.



When?

Friday, Saturday & Sunday, Oct 10-12th

1) 7am sunrise tour

2) 10:00am

3) 1:00pm

4) 4pm sunset tour



Where?

Meet at Helena Harbor Boat Ramp

Over levee behind Delta Cultural Center



Who are the guides?

-The Mighty Quapaws of Clarksdale, Mississippi, the strongest & toughest paddlers on the Lower Mississippi River

-Marc Tremblay, veteran river runner, paddled the entire Mississippi River in 2002, now stationed at Quapaw Helena



Who are the interpreters?

Mike Clark, Big Muddy Adventures, St. Louis, Missouri, Champion of America’s Rivers

Tim Richardson, American Land Conservancy, Lower Mississippi River Campaign

John Gary, King River Rat, Friends for our Riverfront, Mississippi River Corridor

Kevin Smith, Best friend of the River in Arkansas, canoed the entire Mississippi in 1984

John Fewkes, poet, painter, river rat, Quapaw Helena manager

John Ruskey, founder Quapaw Canoe Company, river rat extraordinaire



About Quapaw Helena:

Quapaw Canoe Company is located in downtown Helena, Arkansas 1 block East of Cherry at 411 Ohio (in between Rightor & York directly behind the Malco Theatre). In addition to guided tours, we offer Canoe & Kayak Rentals and Shuttles to River Landings. Resources available to paddlers and other river aficionados include US Army Corps maps, USGS topos, river literature, paddles, life jackets, cold spring water, hot coffee, ropes, canoe & kayak rescue gear, and safety gear. Always open for rentals & shuttles. We’re on your schedule! Hours during festival: Oct 7-9: Fri through Sun: 7am-7pm. Open Monday Oct 13th: 9am-5pm. Resume normal hours Tuesday, October 14.



Quapaw Canoe Company

Helena Outpost

411 Ohio Street

in historic downtown Helena

(870) 228-2266

Or

(662) 902-7841