River Queens: Community Paddle Series Report

By Isabel McNally

Last Friday, floating behind Latsch Island, the air was full of sound—sandhill cranes calling overhead, giggles drifting across the water, and the steady hum of cicadas, frogs, and crickets rounding out the evening chorus. Paddlers who hadn't touched a canoe since summer camp paddled alongside seasoned river rats, trading stories and fish tales, all soaking in one more perfect night on the water.

That mix of old hands and new faces was the heartbeat of this summer's River Queens community paddling series. Every Thursday night, community members gathered to explore the backwaters and main channel, building skills and confidence with each outing. And true to the old saying, you never step in the same river twice—no two paddles were alike. June brought turtle nests and tadpoles by the thousands; by late August, we were watching carp leap and the first pelicans wing their way south. The river always had something new to show us.

Just as the river kept changing, so did our community of paddlers, with new folks joining nearly every week, bringing fresh energy, new questions, and new ways of seeing a place many of us thought we already knew. That's the real gift of programs like IWLA's River Queens series: they give people ongoing chances to deepen their connection to the river and to each other, while quietly building skill, confidence, and belonging along the way.

That's values in action, one Thursday evening at a time.