The 17th annual Clearwater Kayak Festival was a “huge success,” according to the social media posts from event organizer Mat Kasunich.
The festival that began thanks to kayaker and river rafting enthusiast Ben Earle in 2007 is still inspired by him, many years after his fatal kayaking accident at Finn Creek near Avola in 2008.
Earle’s two children, daughter Rio and son Finn, have continued their family’s involvement with the popular festival, which is one of the largest and longest-running whitewater events in Western Canada.
“I was three years old when my dad passed away, and my brother Finn was only two months old then," says Rio. "Even though we were really little we have heard amazing stories about our dad our whole lives from our families in Canada and in Australia.
"I don’t have a lot of memories of him, but what I know about him is how inspiring his impact on others who love rafting and kayaking is, and his memory is still impacting people’s lives through this festival. It’s incredible."
The two siblings take part in volunteering for the Clearwater Kayak Festival every year, helping out with the food and refreshments and presenting awards in their father’s memory to honour his legacy.
“I just love that it brings so many people together wholove what our dad loved doing," Rio adds. "Like-minded people he’d like to be around doing what he loved to do. I feel he would have wanted us to remember him this way, with people doing something so positive and having so much fun together.”
Even though neither of Earle’s kids are kayakers, they love rafting, having grown up in Clearwater and Australia. Rafting is also something their mother Robin, her husband Andrew, and their younger brother — seven-year-old Oliver — also enjoy when returning to Canada from down under.
Earle’s family from Australia contributes to the Clearwater Kayak Festival each year by donating towards the Ben Earle Award that his two children present.
"We present two cases of Coors, some cash, and a beautiful painting by local artist Janel Nicole of our dad paddling, with the same words inscribed on it as there are on the memorial rock plaque at Finn Creek near Avola,” says Rio.
The Clearwater Kayak Festival Facebook page notes that this year, the Ben Earle Award went to young kayaker Julian Lukasik, who received the award for giving up his paddle to a friend who lost theirs, then hand-paddling the entire lower canyon on the Clearwater River. The award is a fitting tribute in honour of such a passionate whitewater enthusiast, which is how Earle has been remembered by many of his kayaking friends.
“Julian is a great guy and we were so happy to present the award to him this year,” says Rio.
This year the festival attracted paddlers from all over Canada and the U.S., offering a variety of races and challenging paddles on the Clearwater River and its many tributaries in Wells Gray Country. On-site camping at the Clearwater Ski Hill, participant lunches, a dance following the award ceremony, and multiple large sponsored prizes were all part of the three-day event that will have kayakers near and far looking forward to next year’s festival, which is sure to be another exciting whitewater high.
