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August 10, 2013
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okanagan paddlefest
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Peachland to celebrate rich paddling history with Okanagan Paddlefest Richard Smith Special to the Peachland View The long and rich paddling history of Peachland dates back thousands of years. For 4,000 years before the Europeans arrived, the Interior Salish of this area built dugout canoes from cottonwood trees as a means of lake travel. War canoes and freighter canoes provided one of the primary means of transportation in the valley for the trappers and traders of the European invasion. The first commercial enterprise in the area was the great Fur Brigade that came through the Okanagan Valley from Oregon on their trip north to trade with in-
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terior tribes as far away as Prince George. Peachland was a stop on their route. Later gold was discovered on the Fraser and in the Caribou and miners used the brigade trail on their way to the gold fields. The first mention of a regatta in the Okanagan goes back to August of 1905 but by the summer of 1909 war canoe races had became an exciting part of summer activity in the valley. Paddling teams from Summerland, Kelowna and Naramata each made notable efforts in the sport. On September 6, 1909 Peachland hosted and won its first war canoe race in the marquis event of the day (possibly because the Kelowna team arrived late for
the 15-man event). The war canoe event prospered as the communities grew until the summer of 1913. On August 7, 1913 Peachland hosted the last Peachland Regatta. Shortly after, many Peachland men shipped off to the First World War never to return, suffering the greatest loss per capita in the Dominion of Canada. Three Governor Generals and the Lt. Governor of B.C. have honoured this sacrifice. Now almost exactly 100 years later Peachland will host Okanagan Paddlefest. As a part of the festival there will be a centennial memorial war canoe race to remember those men who never returned or returned wounded serving our country.
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