Greg Whitaker, founder and CEO of Mountain to Sound Outfitters, announced a new world-class sea kayaking and stand up-paddling event to be held June 25, and 26 of 2011 at West Seattle’s Alki Beach, with the exact location to be announced in January 2011. The Northwest Paddling Festival will showcase on-water demonstrations, on-water instruction, races, classroom lectures and live music. The location has a stunning view of downtown Seattle and has ready access to the nightlife of Alki Beach.

Mountain to Sound Outfitters is Seattle’s newest specialty sporting goods store focused on paddlesports, snowsports and skating. With two shops in West Seattle, including an on-water rental facility, Mountain to Sound Outfitters provides tours, lessons, rentals and retail sales.
“After the demise of two major paddlesports events in as many years, the Pacific Northwest has been left with a huge void,” said Whitaker. “We have been working closely with Sea Kayaker magazine in that time on how fill the void.”

Mountain to Sound also created a partnership with the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce that provides an essential link to the host community.

The West Seattle event boasts something that other previous paddlesports events in this area have not been able to provide: timing and location. The event will take place the first weekend of summer after Seattle schools have let out for the year, and at a time when on-water paddlesports events have come to an end. Unlike many other paddlesports events, the Northwest Paddling Festival will be immediately adjacent to the resources a major metropolitan area can provide. Alki Beach is readily accessible not only by car and public transit, but also by the King County Water Taxi from downtown Seattle. Walk by traffic along the beach during the summer is numbered in the tens of thousands per day and is a destination for active Seattle residents.

The Northwest Paddling Festival event will provide an opportunity for the industry to showcase its products and for a boat-loving population a chance to try the best in sea kayaking and stand-up paddling equipment.