Paddle Kitsap, Harbor Days Festival get August afloat

Paddle Kitsap launches Aug. 1 for a two-day paddle around the North End, showcasing the shoreline of the peninsula beginning in Port Gamble and ending in Poulsbo, blazing a marine trail through near-offshore waters and communities. Kayakers gather in Kingston July 31 to register and ready for the event with a special community festival held in their honor.

Created by John Kuntz, owner of Olympic Outdoor Center in Poulsbo, a kayak rental shop doing business for 21 years, Paddle Kitsap is an event of the North Kitsap Trails Association. Its premise is to provide an on-the-water recreational event, but also coordinate and create a water trail along with the land trails being created by the “String of Pearls,” which Olympic Property Group instigated last year that led to the creation of the trails association. In mapping a route for Paddle Kitsap, Kuntz created an inventory of sites along the shoreline that can provide stopping points for recreational, non-motorized watercraft.

Kuntz said about 40 paddlers have registered for the event so far.

To celebrate the event, Paddle Kitsap organizers were joined by the Port of Kingston and Downtown Kingston Association to create a three-day Kingston Harbor Days Festival July 31-Aug. 2. The community is encouraged to come down to Mike Wallace Park and not only support the paddlers but enjoy great music, food and the pristine waterfront.

Participants in the Paddle Kitsap excursion will begin arriving in Kingston on Thursday evening, July 31, to register at the Port of Kingston. A staging area will be set up at Ed Moon Field in Kola Kole Park for paddlers to use throughout the event. Once they’ve got their gear and paperwork in order, paddlers can join the community for dinner from Mike’s Four Star BBQ and refreshments at the Kingston Rotary Club beer and wine garden from 6-9 p.m. The Happy Daze Band wraps up the day with music from 7-9 p.m. Kayakers depart Kingston after breakfast on Friday morning, Aug. 1, and shuttle up to Port Gamble to begin their paddle. They arrive back at the Port of Kingston for more evening festivities. The Rotary Beer and Wine Garden will be open again while the Julie Holt Band and Crazy Family Band entertains. The Poulsbo and Kingston Kiwanis provide dinner for kayakers.

After a Saturday morning breakfast July 2 in Kingston, kayakers leave on the final day of their paddle. That evening, the Harbor Days Festival continues with the kick off of Kingston Concerts on the Cove at Mike Wallace Park (see article below for a complete schedule).

For more information on Paddle Kitsap and a detailed route map, go to www.PaddleKitsap.com or call (360) 697-6095.

Paddle Kitsap Aug. 1-2

Route Summary

Day 1 Port Gamble to Kingston

18 nautical miles

• Port Gamble to Foulweather Bluff, 6 nautical miles, rest stop.

• Foulweather Bluff to Norwegian Point Park, 4

nautical miles, lunch stop.

• Norwegian Point Park to Eglon, 4 nautical miles, rest stop.

• Eglon to Kingston, 4

nautical miles, end of day

Day 2 Kingston to Poulsbo

15.5 nautical miles

• Kingston to Jefferson Head,

4 nautical miles, rest stop.

• Jefferson Head to Suquamish, 4 nautical miles, lunch stop.

• Suquamish to Keyport, 5

nautical miles, rest stop.

• Keyport to Poulsbo, 2.5

nautical miles, dinner, end of the adventure.

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