Upcoming WCHM Events
Paddle Making Class April 12 & 13, 2019
Are you ready for the spring canoe paddling season? On April 12-13, 2019, you can get a good start by joining a canoe paddle making class at the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum (WCHM) in Spooner, WI. In this two-day class you will actually make a canoe paddle in a design of your own choosing, using traditional and modern tools and techniques. Your instructor will be Alex Comb of Stewart River Boatworks from Knife River MN.
Day one will start at 6:00 pm on Friday April 12 with gluing up your laminated paddle blade and grip onto a provided shaft. Day two will run from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and will be spent shaping the paddle using mostly hand tools. Some students may not finish shaping or sanding their paddle and varnishing will be left for student to do at home. All tools and materials will be provided.
The cost for participants is $95.00 plus materials cost ($35 for basswood, $45 for cherry, or $55 for a basswood bent shaft). The class is limited to eight participants for a real hands-on experience, so early registration is recommended. For more information or to register call 715-635-2479 or email to info@WisconsinCanoeHeritageMuseum.org. For nearby motel lodging we recommend Spooner Riverplace Best Western Motel at 715-635-9770. For camping, travel, or other lodging information contact the Spooner Area Chamber of Commerce at 800-367-3306.
Get Ready For The Canoe & Wooden Boat Show Saturday, May 25, 2019
For more information about our opening day and the canoe and wooden boat show see our
Heritage Day page.
WCHM invites participants for its ninth annual Canoe & Wooden Boat Show, to be held in conjunction with Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Day on Saturday May 25, 2019. This one day free event will also include museum tours and open house, the unveiling of new displays, ongoing activities in the canoe workshop, and live music and food and beverage in the beer garden. Now is the time to make plans to be an exhibitor and display your canoe, wooden boat, or other canoe related items of interest.
Wooden boats of all shapes, sizes, and designs are welcome, both classic and modern, as well as all kinds of classic and vintage water and paddling related items. Whether you have items to sell, or you just have something to show off, there will be many interested folks attending this free event. Exhibitors can include individuals, commercial entities, non-profits, authors, government agencies, educators, crafters, and businesses whose products or services are relevant to boaters and wooden boats and canoes.
Booth space is free, and reserving a space is easy. Use our online booth reservation form by clicking in the column to the right, or request one by emailing to info@wisconsincanoeheritagemuseum.org or calling 715-635-2479. Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Day is produced by the WCHM each year on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend.
Robert Morris Returning For Kayak Building Class
Sunday August 4th through Thursday August 8th, 2019
In one exciting week you and a partner can build a Greenland Skin-on-Frame Kayak, and you keep the boat!
Robert Morris from the Brewery Creek Small Boat Shop in Vancouver BC, and author of the illustrated instructional book "Building Skin-on-Frame Boats", will be teaching a Greenland Kayak building class at the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum (WCHM). The class is scheduled to begin Sunday August 4th and continue daily through Thursday August 8th, 2019. During this five-day course, you and your partner will build a traditional Greenland style skin-on-frame kayak. By the end of the week you’ll have a stunning kayak ready for the water.
Participants of this Greenland Kayak building workshop will be guided through the process of building kayaks in the West Greenland style. Kayaks will be completed and ready to paint by the end of the workshop. Students will also come away with a Greenland style kayak paddle. Throughout the session, building practices and techniques will be linked to the instructor’s research and experiences. Participants should leave with the skills and knowledge to build a second skin-on-frame boat.
This class will be limited to five students (and their partners) so that each will have the opportunity for a real hands-on experience. Tuition is $1,250 if registered before June 15 and $1,450 after. This covers the cost of all materials and instruction for you (and a second person if you so choose) to build a kayak and take it home afterwards, and also includes a Voyageur level WCHM membership (a $100 value).
For More Info Or To Register: 715-635-2479
info@WisconsinCanoeHeritageMuseum.org
Recent Past WCHM Events
Robert Morris from the Brewery Creek Small Boat Shop in Vancouver, British Columbia, and author of the illustrated instructional book "Building Skin-on-Frame Boats", will present “Caribou Kayak: Building Boats to Survive” at the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum in Spooner, Wisconsin, on Wednesday August 1st. It will be an evening of high arctic video, photographs, and storytelling. The presentation begins at 7:30 pm and is free and open to the public.
The Netsilingmeot kayak is primarily a caribou hunting boat. Survival in the high arctic was measured not just with food, but in the number of caribou hides a man could supply his family for clothing. Hip-wide and nearly twenty feet long, every aspect of the Netsilingmeot kayak’s design was optimized for lancing and killing caribou as they crossed rivers. In the age of aircraft, skidoos and ATVs, caribou no longer need to be chased down and lanced from a kayak. Why then were Morris and shop mate Mark Reuten invited to work with elders in the community of Kugaaruk to reestablish local kayak building traditions?
Join Robert Morris as he explores what went right, what went wrong, and how his experience in the Kugaaruk community informed his understanding of boat building, teaching, and his place in the world. The presentation begins at 7:30 pm at the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum in Spooner (312 N Front St) and is free and open to the public. For more information call 715-635-2479 or email to info@WisconsinCanoeHeritageMuseum.org. For nearby motel lodging we recommend the Riverplace Best Western Motel at 715-635-9770. For camping, travel, or other lodging information contact the Spooner Area Chamber of Commerce at 800-367-3306.
For more information about any of these or other WCHM events
call 715-635-2479 or
write info@WisconsinCanoeHeritageMuseum.org. For nearby
motel lodging we recommend the Best Western American Heritage Inn
at 715-635-9770. For camping, travel, or other lodging information
contact the Spooner Area Chamber of Commerce at 800-367-3306.
Robert Morris Presents "Caribou Kayak: Building Boats To Survive" Wed Aug 1, 2018
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For nearby motel
lodging we recommend the Best Western Spooner Riverplace at
715-635-9770.
For camping, travel, or other lodging information contact the Spooner Area Chamber of Commerce at 800-367-3306.
