Paddle Away

In Old Forge, kayakers and canoers enjoy a watery weekend for the Adirondack Paddlefest

Story by Matt Kipp

Photos provided by John Nemjo

Nestled in the foothills of the Adirondacks, the town of Old Forge and its 800 residents is flooded with four to five thousand canoe and kayak enthusiasts and people of all ages looking to dive into the 12th annual Adirondack Paddlefest.

“Imagine that you took two panes of glass and put some sand in there, that is Old Forge,” says Mike Farmer, Tourism/Publicity Director for the Town of Webb. “Paddlefest is when you’ve added the ant farm.”

 “It is the largest on-water canoe and kayak demo and sale in the country,” says John Nemjo, owner of Mountainman Outdoor Supply Company. “There are good sales, good and diverse information, and paddlers from all over the place,” says Larry Soroka, Chair of the Department of Expeditionary Studies at Suny Plattsburgh.

From May 21-23, 2010 the town of Old Forge will be filled with thousands looking to try out and or buy canoes and kayaks. “It is recognized in the industry and recognized around the country as one of the biggest sports events there is,” Nemjo says.

Before Paddlefest began in 1999, the Moutainman Outdoor Supply Company hosted an on-water demo sponsored by one company each weekend in the summer. “We decided, instead of doing one company every weekend, why don’t we put it all together and bring every company together for one big weekend,” Nemjo says. And so Paddlefest was started.

 “It is the largest on-water canoe and kayak demo and sale in the country.”

Paddlefest was held in Inlet, NY, from 1999-2005, but in 2006, it was moved to Old Forge. “It was a better location, had bigger beaches and an entire waterfront,” Nemjo says. “Old Forge is definitely an easier place to facilitate the show.”

“Professional paddlers and people in the industry come in and do talks, demonstrations and clinics,” Soroka says. “We do rescue clinics, paddling clinics, towing clinics, and things like that.”

Aside from education, there are also non-demonstrational events like the Canoe Ballet. Music is put on and they make it look like the canoes are dancing. “All these events are happening simultaneously, and I think that’s what makes Paddlefest exciting for a lot of people,” Soroka says. 

At Paddlefest, potential buyers not only can attend educational clinics and fun events, but they can also test out the boats. “There are people from different kayak companies who could tell you the details and specifics of their company’s products,” Soroka says.    

Paddlefest is promoted through various methods. They use television ads, outdoor sports, and canoe and kayak manufacturing Web site ads, and a mailing list of over 40,000 people, but the greatest method of promotion is word of mouth. “I believe we spend more to advertise the Adirondack Paddlefest for that one weekend in May than the entire town of Old Forge spends to promote itself the rest of the year,” Nemjo says.

“All you have to do is take care of your customers, treat them right, and appreciative them and they go home and tell everyone about you,” Nemjo says. “I think we’ve made almost 20,000 people very happy with the products they have bought from us.”

Some of the local businesses, shops, restaurants, and hotels in Old Forge help to support the event as well. “We try to make it a community wide event,” Nemjo says. “We try to involve as much of local community and as much of the local businesses as possible.” Business seems to thrive during Paddlesfest. “It [Paddlefest] means at least an 80 percent increase in the business over that weekend,” Farmer says.

There are usually about four dozen vendors and about 8-10 sponsors for this event. “Paddlefest has attracted people that don’t care what the time of year, what the temperature or climate is, they are coming here to be part of this things, it explodes onto the scene of this town,” Farmer says.

“It is a little bit of a party atmosphere.”

“The town is a lot fuller when we have Paddlefest,” Nemjo says. “A nice benefit for us is, there are so many return visitors for Paddlefest that they bring other people that then continue coming the whole summer,” Farmer says.   

“It is a little bit of a party atmosphere,” Soroka says. “There is a lot of activity, and you could learn a lot by talking to the different people there.”

There is no restriction on age and skill level at Paddlefest. “We have kayaks and canoes that you can paddle from 4 years old to 90 years old,” Nemjo says. Admission is $5 a day and children under 12 are free.   

The Adirondack Paddlefest has grown from a weekend showcase to a nationally recognized event. “Our show is four times bigger than it was in the beginning and it has grown almost every year,” Nemjo says.

Want to learn more about Paddlefest?

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