The host of the increasingly popular whitewater paddling party known as Palmer Fest has sadly decided to pack it in, announcing with regret today in a blog post that it was just too high a risk.

Scott MacGregor, founder of Rapid Media, posted on the CanoeRoots Magazine blog:

We’ve had five great years with no injuries, no one getting hurt on the highway, and no real trouble at the bar. I feel like we’ve been very lucky. If I was a bar owner, paddling school, an event company, or a volunteer community group behind so many great festivals I may be more comfortable with these risks. Look at it this way: in one weekend we run more paddlers through an instructional program than many kayak schools do in a whole season. In all the fun it is to produce Palmer Fest there is incredible risk, risk that has become too great for me, my family, and for Rapid Media.

A real shame. I joked last year that the Palmer Fest weekend was a great time to avoid the Madawaska, but in all honesty it’s probably grown in five short years into the single biggest whitewater event in the area. Certainly the biggest party! :)

The post says that the Paddler Co-op is working to continue the 10-year-old May-24 tradition. They started Palmer Fest and are now working on “creating a new unique and accessible opportunity for paddlers – both new and experienced – to come together for high quality instruction, music, good food and atmosphere.” According to MacGreggor, “It seems to me it will be all things Palmer Fest, but on a smaller, more grassroots scale.”

View Scott’s full post at CanoeRoots Magazine.

[via]