By Jodi Lee

Similar to last year, Colorado Whitewater was an event sponsor of CKS Paddlefest held on May 27th-29th as well as Lyons Outdoor Games on June 4th. At both events, our booth was set up near the river where we had many visitors stop by to see what CW is all about. 

When you first walked up to the booth, you'd see a game that says "PLAY TO WIN". Just like the Plinko game from The Price Is Right show, you drop a disk at the top of the board where it bounces down to reach a prize at the bottom. 

The Prizes: You Swim! Booty Beer; Candy; CW Sticker; CW Koozie (ran out of these so now offering CW Chapstick); CW Key Chain Bottle Opener; Portage! Try Again. 

This game enticed people of all ages to come to our booth to win a prize. If visitors were curious about Colorado Whitewater, then we'd brief them about CW, we had CW brochures to hand out, a sign about the membership benefits, and also sold quite a bit of our merchandise.  

It's great to be a part of these events as it gets our name and mission out there to many new folks -- some just moved to Colorado and were looking for groups to boat with, while others had heard of us and were interested in some of our events. Plus, during the festivals, there were several organized CW river cruises and the booth was a common place for our members to come mingle with a beer in hand.

I'd like to personally thank the following volunteers for helping at the booth: Ryan Lee, Aaron States, Jenny McCurdy, Curt Cleavinger, and Jessie Gunter. 

Colorado Whitewater has been invited to attend other river festivals such as FIBArk and Royal Gorge Whitewater Festival, but it's been a struggle to find volunteers to commit to manning the booth. Next year, I plan to have the booth at CKS Paddlefest and Lyons Outdoor Games again. If we get enough enthusiasm and volunteers to help at other events, then we might possibly have our booth at those events too!

Jodi Lee is in charge of Publicity/Advertising on the Colorado Whitewater Board of Directors. She has been kayaking since 2002 and loves camping, kayaking, skiing, swimming (in a pool or lake... not outside her kayak), mountain biking, trail running, and gardening.