The Lakes and Trails Festival

Endorsements and involvement have started rolling in for this years Lakes and Trails Festival on July 14.

• The Kingston Public Library is coming with their giant lawn games.
• Frontenac Outfitters will be there with their boats and paddling help.
• Trousdale’s General Store will have ice cream for all participants.
• Barb Mclaren and crew are organizing the BBQ.
• The Cataraqui Canoe Club will be leading a canoe trip on Sydenham lake starting and ending at the Point.

And, there is more to come. If you have an idea, or want to help, send it along.

 

 

The 2018 Lakes and Trails Festival on July 14 will incorporate the following suggestions made by participants in last summer’s festival.

• A short family bike trip out and back on the Cataraqui Trail.
• A lifeguard at the paddling site.
• Different start times for the four bike rides: 9:30 for the 44K loop Around-the-Lake, 10 for the 36K loop, 10:30 for the 21K loop and 11am for the family bike. All trips will have a lead and sweep biker.
• A bicycle repair station on site.
• A meet-up station for people wishing to paddle in a group.
• Live music in the village so that participants can have a patio drink in Sydenham in the afternoon.
• More organized parking.
• More space for the BBQ and more food.
• A cycle skills competition with “leader board” and prizes by age group.

Any other ideas are welcome, we are still in the early planning stages.  Also, you can come out and help plan or volunteer on the day.  Thank you to everyone for all the feedback.

 

 

Thank you to the many volunteers, supporters and participants who made the first annual Lakes and Trials Festival a fun, active community event.

 

Thank you to the 50 riders who, lead by Alastair Lamb, Wally Stanton and Steve Tanner from South Frontenac Rides, biked around the lake. Thank you to the dozens of paddlers who, under the watchful eye of Helen Parfitt, the Sydenham Canoe Club and Frontenac Outfitters, paddled the lake. And, to the many who shared stories with Wilma Kenny and her team of historic interpreters, Gini Trousdale, Christine Kennedy, Peter Hamilton and Joanne Ankers, thank you. There are many more stories to come.

The younger participants, when they were not testing their cycle skills at the rodeo with Scott Gordon, Fran and John Willis and Cycle Kingston, or learning about fire safety in South Frontenac’s Fire and Rescue’s Inflatable home, were playing the KFL+A public library’s wonderful outdoor lawn games.

Everyone thanks Rose Pennock and her crew for the BBQ and Trousdale’s General store for the cooling ice cream.

Thank you to our many neighbours from the south who biked from Kingston, by themselves or with the Velo Club; the flotilla who paddled from the Wilmer Boat launch with Dave Linton and the Cataraqui Canoe Club, and those who helped power the Dragon Boat with the Kingston Dragon Boat club. We look forward to you visiting South Frontenac anytime.

This was a real community event. The support of the many sponsors, listed on our webpage, lakesandtrailsfestival.org, made the event possible and open to everyone in the community. The many volunteers who made signs, registered people, wrote information hand outs, put up posters, and spent many hours in committee meetings working out the details made the event run smoothly. Thank you.

Finally, for the many who asked, the fun facts about South Frontenac are: We have 176 named lakes, 12% of Sydenham Lake’s shore is wetland and the lake is 120 feet deep. The Cataraqui Trail is 106 kilometers long and runs from Smith Falls to Strathcona, next to Napanee. It was purchased from the CNR.

We would love to hear your comments, good and bad, about this year’s festival and hope to see you next year.

 

 

The map of the Festival’s activities on the Point has been finalized. It is attached and shows a wide range of events for all ages and abilities.
L+T site map.
The map for this year’s historical walk has joined other maps of the Bike Around the Lake and the Paddle on the Lake. There is so much to see and do around Sydenham.

Giant Lawn Games

The KFL+A Public Library will be bringing their giant lawn games to the festival. Over sized jenga, chess, checkers, snakes and ladders, dominoes and tic tac toe will be set up between the ball diamond and the Point. Be sure to chat with library staff about the many children’s programs at our local branch during July and August, and ask about their new Go Explore #In Frontenac backpacks.

Frontenac Outfitters

Frontenac Outfitters is also coming to the Festival. They will be bringing a trailer full of boats to use free of charge to paddle on the lakes. In conjunction with the Canoe Club, introductory instruction will also be available.

These are some of the participation prizes donated to the Lakes and Trails Festival.  Our thanks to Frontenac Provincial Park (a year pass and hoodie), the Cataraqui Conservation Authority (a year pass), Frontenac Cycle (two helmets), KFL+A Public Health (a helmet and light), and CyclePath (a gift certificate).  Also all participants will receive ice cream, thanks to Trousdale’s general store, and a t-shirt, thanks to the County of Frontenac and the Lakes and Trials festival. And, there are more to come.

A new event poster is available for distribution.  Please download from the link: Lakes and Trails Poster or  contact us if you would like hard copies.  The poster includes an updated schedule of events.  We look forward to seeing everyone on July 15th.