The Braeside River Festival June 25, 2011 will feature a flotilla of vintage boats, riverdrivers camboose scow, sweep boats, racing sculls and canoes, all arriving at Red Pine Bay on the shores of the Ottawa River. The flotilla departs Norway Bay Quebec with a community send-off and cruise down river to the Ontario side to be greeted with fine food and musical entertainment in McNab-Braeside. Of the vintage boats on parade will be the W.D. Stalker Alligator Steam Tug Boat, brought to the Ottawa Valley from Simcoe Ontario as a display for the County of Renfrew's EXPO 150, June 9-12, celebrating the sesquicentennial.
As a follow-up, we launched the Alligator at Arnprior's Madawaska River marina and the Simcoe steam crew prepared the boat for safe towing and mooring at Haughton's Bay near Bristol QC. On June 25th we had a successful Flotilla from Norway Bay to Braeside. Bristol Mayor Brent Orr, McNab-Braeside Mayor Mary Campbell, Renfrew County Warden Bob Sweet and lots of dedicated volunteers made this day great fun. The sky was overcast, but there was no wind, which made our excusrion and landing at shore simple and safe. We were well received at Red Pine Beach by festivities co-ordinators Dan Smith and Heather Lang and another team of volunteers.
Our voyage back up the Ottawa River past Sand Point and across to Haughton's was wonderful. The fête that followed with food, drink and music and dance will be etched i our minds for ever.
