Coastal Companion

Your ultimate guide to the coast

Sun Fun Festival 2009 – Myrtle Beach, Sc

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For almost 60 years, people have come to the Grand Strand for the food and the festivities at the Sun Fun Festival. This year the event includes with the Miss Sun Fun USA/Teen USA pageants, celebrity meet-and-greets, beach games, sporting events, a concert featuring Lifehouse, a kids’ fair and much more. Visit South Carolina for the Sun Fun Festival in Myrtle Beach, June 4th though 8th, 2009.

June 5 – 7
H2X Racing’s 2009 Tour presented by Sea-Doo, WizzardX Media and Res-Q Energy Drink, beachfront between Damon’s Grill (2985 S. Ocean Blvd.) and Springmaid Beach Resort (3200 S. Ocean Blvd.), June 5-7 – Personal watercraft racing as part of the American Power Boat Association national tour. New this year, APBA national champion and professional racer Rob Greenwald will teach a beginner racing school. Competition free to spectators.

June 5
Start the fun on Friday with live entertainment. Bring family and friends, chairs and blankets (no coolers, please) and enjoy free live entertainment. Food vendors will be open Friday – so come hungry.

June 6
Celebrity Meet-and-Greets with recording artist Blake Lewis of “American Idol” fame (season 6 runner-up). Blake will be performing live and you can also meet-and-greets with Lewis, Jason Earles of “Hannah Montana” and Robert Newman of “Guiding Light.” This is a free event.

Concert Featuring Lifehouse, June 6 –Free.
H2X Racing Demonstrations on the Lake, June 6 – Free.
Kids Zone Games, June 6 – inflatable rides, games and more. Free.

Miss Sun Fun festival pageant

2010 Miss Sun Fun and Miss Sun Fun Teen Pageant, Myrtle Beach High School, June 6 – A Myrtle Beach tradition, the pageants began in 1960 to symbolize one of the largest annual festivals in the Carolinas. Miss Sun Fun and Miss Sun Fun Teen applications are being accepted until May 1. Admission $15.

Sun Fun Beach Run, North Myrtle Beach, June 6 – Take your pick of a 5K run/walk or a 1-mile fun run sponsored by the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and city of North Myrtle Beach in cooperation with the North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce and North Myrtle Beach Recreation Department. Free for spectators. Click here for registration information.

Sun Fun Festival Fireworks Extravaganza, June 6 – Free.

Click here for more details about the Sun Fun Festival 2009 in Myrtle Beach.

East Coast Canoe and Kayak Festival 2009

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(Charleston, SC) James Island County Park will host the 19th Annual East Coast Canoe & Kayak Festival, April 17-19, 2009. One of the premier paddlesport events on the Atlantic Coast, the festival is a full-weekend immersed in the technique, hands-on experience,>history, and fun of canoeing and kayaking.

kayak festival in charlestonEach year E.C.C.K.F. brings together paddling enthusiasts of all levels with world-renowned instructors and equipment manufacturers. The action-packed festival features a multitude of on-water classes, lectures, and demonstrations directed to the novice as well as the experienced paddler. Plus over 40 commercial exhibitors will be on-hand to give you a chance to try the latest equipment before you buy.

The heart of the festival is the simultaneous running of four classrooms throughout the three-day event. You can meet and learn from the following experts, Nigel Foster, Cathy Piffath, Christopher Stec, Jeff Cooper, Ken Fink, Karen Knight, Dubside, Ben Lawry, Steve Scherrer, and Russell Farrow, as well as other knowledgeable paddlesport enthusiasts. A wide variety of topics include slide shows of exotic paddling locations, how-to sessions on navigation, selecting or repairing equipment, safety, and preparing gourmet cuisine fresh from your dry bag.

Kayak Festival CharlestonThe 2009 festival kicks off Friday with classes, workshops, and boat demonstrations. Join keynote speaker Russell Farrow for the opening barbecue dinner and social. Russell will present an exciting multimedia presentation of his six-week kayaking trip to Canadian High Arctic on the north end of Baffin Island (600 miles north of the Arctic Circle).

Children are also welcome to the festival and are free with a paying adult. Learn how to paddle as a family in our clinics, or register your young paddlers in the full and ½ day canoe and kayak camps (ages 6-12) featuring hands-on sessions, cardboard canoe races, nature walks, crafts, and more.

Make plans now to participate in this exciting event! Come meet your paddling peers throughout the weekend and enjoy food, beverages, music and of course, canoeing and kayaking!

For more information, a daily festival schedule, and to register, call (843) 795-4FUN or visit our website at www.ccprc.com/ecckf.
Kayak Festival Charleston

Wild Ways Tours by Amelia River Cruises

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Amelia River Cruises has set the dates for its next series of Wild Ways Tours offering tourists and locals, alike, the unique experience that has earned a nomination as Best of the Best in Boat Cruises by WJXT. Votes are now being recorded for a wide range of Jacksonville and surrounding area businesses by category.
A link to voting can be found on the company’s home page at www.ameliarivercruises.com.

To celebrate this nomination, Captain/historian Kevin McCarthy of Amelia River Cruises and international zoologist/columnist Dr. Pat Foster-Turley are conducting a new series of Wild Ways boat tours this spring in and around Cumberland Sound. Each tour will visit different places and tell different tales of local history and wildlife here and around the world.

All tours will be about three hours long depending on wildlife and wild happenings that are encountered along the way. Tours are scheduled for 10:30 AM on Tuesday March 31st and Tuesday April 28, and at 6 PM on Saturday, May 16th as part of the Wild Amelia Nature Festival. Tours will embark from the Fernandina Beach downtown marina at the foot of Centre Street and cost $38 per person plus tax.

Soft drinks are provided but people are encouraged to bring their own snacks and other drinks if they wish. For more information and to make reservations, call Amelia River Cruises at 904-261-9972.

Those interested in scheduling their own chartered Wild Ways Tour can call the office or visit us on the web at www.ameliarivercruises.com.

7th Annual Savannah International Boat Show

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The Savannah International Boat Show returns to the Savannah International Trade and Convention Center on Hutchinson Island, March 6-8. Tickets are $8 for adults, children 12 and under are free.

Boats will be displayed both inside the Convention Center as well as on the Savannah River itself. Boats include Power boats, sail boats and yachts and there will also be a variety of events and seminars during the three-day Savannah Boat Show.

Our favorite party band, The Swingin’ Medallions are scheduled to play and there will even be shag contest.

Other activities include a Fishing Simulator by the Georgia DNR and a kids’ fishing clinic.

Click here for more information about the The Savannah International Boat Show 2009

Blessing of the Fleet 2009- Darien, Georgia

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This popular event is the biggest event in McIntosh county. Every spring the Blessing of the Fleet celebrates the opening of the shrimping season. On Friday March 27 and Saturday March 28, 2009 the small town of Darien creates a party on the riverfront with food and live entertainment. The actual blessing takes place on Sunday March 29th, 2009. Decorated shrimp boats will pass under the bridge to recieve their blessing. For times and details for the event The Blessing of the Fleet Darien, click here.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to visit Darien before, this is a great time to do so. Plenty of vendors participate. There’s all kinds of food, from fresh Georgia shrimp to cotton candy, lots of activities for the kids and live music.

Visit the website for a detailed schedule at www.blessingofthefleet.com