Paddling festival a great way to have fun, serve the community

Last year's Calusa Pro Am catch and release kayak fishing tournament in Matlacha Park. Proceeds went to the Great Calusa Blueway Paddling Trail, as will this year's. The Calusa Blueway Paddling Festival, a nine-day eco-event across Lee County, offers many options for residents and tourists to help out and give back to the community.

While the Oct. 25-Nov. 2 festival features more than 75 paddling trips and 20 sessions with speakers and hands-on clinics, several events are designed to be fun but also to help clean up or improve the community. Complete details-times, dates, places-can be found at www.CalusaBluewayPaddlingFestival. com. Here are some of the places you can help out by pitching in:

. Bonita Springs River Fest: Kick-off Fish Fry Friday is Oct. 24, and Imperial River Challenge canoe and kayak race is Saturday, Oct. 25. Proceeds go to the Bonita Springs Waterways Conservation Fund, a special city fund to preserve, restore and promote Bonita Springs' river and creeks.

. Monofilament Madness: Keep Lee County Beautiful annual fishing-line cleanup event, Monofilament Madness, is Sunday, Oct. 26, with help from Lee County Extension Sea Grant. Participants collect trash and get free lunch at Mound House, Fort Myers Beach, or Waterfront Restaurant, St. James City, Pine Island. Paddlers from clubs across Florida will join Monofilament Madness efforts from Lovers Key State Park with a picnic afterward.

. Midpoint Paddle Sprint: Annual canoe and kayak regatta is Saturday, Nov. 1, from North Shore Park on the Caloosahatchee River. Proceeds go to the nonprofit Lee Paddlesports Alliance.

. St. James City Blueway Style: Celebration on the south tip of Pine Island has family, arts and eco-events. Bring a donation for the Gulf Coast Humane Society. Items needed: Purina dog/cat dry food, treats, toys, office supplies, 55 gallon trash bags, cleaning supplies, cat beds, rugs, laundry soap, bleach, and cat litter.

. Matlacha Blueway Fest: Kayak/ canoe race and kayak extravaganza with kayak try-outs and demonstrations, speakers, food and more is Sunday, Nov. 2. Bring a canned food donation for the Pine Island Food Pantry.

. Calusa Pro-Am: Proceeds from the second-annual kayak fishing tournament Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 1-2, at Matlacha Park go to the Great Calusa Blueway Paddling Trail and the Southwest Florida Council of Boy Scouts of America.

Throughout the nine-day festival, the Society for Ethical Ecotourism Southwest Florida will be giving away monofilament recycling tubes for paddlers to use. These former tennis ball canisters are equipped with lids and with Velcro to attach them to kayaks. They have local information affixed to them such as the marine mammal rescue hotline and local paddling club numbers.

The third-annual festival features events throughout Lee County in Bonita Springs, Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, Fort Myers, North Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Matlacha, Pine Island and other sites. The festival includes free community events with live music, free clinics and demonstrations, a speakers' series, waterfront hospitality events and chances to win a kayak and other prizes. There also are moderately priced nature and cultural tours, canoe and kayak races and kayak club activities.