kayak busDuring a media conference Tuesday afternoon, organizers of the Great Canadian Kayak Challenge & Festival announced plans to introduce another significant enhancement to the 8th annual Great Canadian Kayak Challenge & Festival scheduled to take place from Aug 26th to August 28th.

According to event Co-Chair Guy Lamarche, “The festival has continued to grow each and every year from a programming and attendance stand point and this year is no different.”

“Through a partnership and generous contribution from First Student Canada’s Charter Division, the event Steering Committee is happy to announce that a complimentary shuttle service will be available throughout the festival weekend. The service will be available each day approximately 1 hour before the festival gets underway, and end approximately 1 hour after the festival closes. The service will run from Notre Dame Trailer Park east to Participark and from the Whitney Arena west to Participark. A number of pick-up and drop off points including from our sponsor hotel locations will be announced shortly and posted to www.thegreatcanadiankayakchallenge.com and to our FB event page.

“The Great Canadian Kayak Challenge & Festival has come a long way in a very short period of time due in large part to partners such as First Student Canada The generosity of our Corporate Community and government partners really needs to be underscored. Signature events such as the Great Canadian Kayak Challenge & Festival are extremely expensive to stage when you consider the quality of our entertainment. Already this year, we can count 55 corporate sponsors at this early juncture contributing $83,150 in cash, $63,050 in-kind and $9,900 in prize giveaways benefitting the paddlers who enter the challenge and the consumers who submit to a survey” continued Lamarche.

“When we were approached to consider donating a complimentary and extensive shuttle service, we jumped at the opportunity. The decision to support the Great Canadian Kayak Challenge & Festival was an easy one for us to make.

This marque event is extremely well received by residents of Timmins and by the many tourists who come here specifically for the event. Not only are we providing the service, we will also staff an on-site Shuttle Service Information Booth at the venue” offered Cindy LeClair, Manager of the Timmins Branch of First Student Canada.

Event Co-Chair, Jack Watson, said “the addition of a dedicated shuttle service is indeed welcomed news. The service will eliminate some of the parking challenges, the congestion and safety hazards associated with Riverside Drive and the venues main entrance. Furthermore the addition of the service will help to reduce the carbon footprint that the festival is responsible for creating. I take my hat off to First Student Canada and want to thank all of the other sponsors, big and small. Without your continued and unwavering support, the Great Canadian Kayak Challenge and Festival would not be the festival that it is today.”