Sierra Magazine Continues Supporting Paddle Industry at Canoecopia

Sierra Magazine continues its mission supporting the paddlesports industry and the waterways that they explore. As the exclusive media sponsor of Canoecopia, Sierra encourages its million plus members and outdoor enthusiasts to include canoeing and kayaking as part of their active lifestyle. A much-anticipated Spring event Canoecopia draws attendees from the Midwest to its home in Madison, Wisconsin. It has become the largest paddlesports expo in the U.S. hosted by Rutabaga, the largest paddlesports shop in the U.S.

“Sierra Magazine has been helping to support the paddlesports industry in many ways; every Spring we publish our May/June Paddling Issue, with a story written by Rutabaga’s Chief Paddling Evangelist Darren Bush in our special paddling section, along with our regular features, departments, Outings Paddling trips and gear guides on paddlesports,”said Sierra National Advertising Director Kristi Rummel. “Sierra helps to promote the event nationally in print, on-line and in person via the magazine by reaching out to the unique network of chapter offices we have across the U.S. We encourage our members to attend Canoecopia and buy gear and boats for their next paddling adventure, whether they are leading paddling trips for our Sierra Club Outings Program (http://www.sierraclub.org/outings/national) or participating in one. The whole idea is to bring new eyes to the industry and get these people excited about paddling and the outdoors.”

Darren Bush said this year more than 21,000 customers came through the doors at Canoecopia during the three day expo. That’s an increase of 10 percent over the previous year, which Bush partially attributes to Sierra Magazine’s support.

“Sierra helps increase attendance because it brands both of us,” Bush said. “Our missions are identical: getting kids outdoors is just as important to them as it is for us, and we have such a big overlap between their readers and our customers. It just makes sense for us to work together.”

Sierra Magazine invited Martin LeBlanc as a Canoecopia keynote speaker to discuss Our Natural Legacy: Saving our youth from nature deficit disorder. Martin has been instrumental in empowering youth leadership around the issue of children and nature. He established the Children and Nature Network’s Natural Leaders Network which has engaged millenials as leaders in the children and nature movement. Martin is also the Senior Vice-President Island Wood in Washington State.

“Canoecopia is a great medium for the Sierra Club to educate future generations to protect and enjoy the nation’s waterways,” said Rummel. “We’re all in this together.”

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SIERRA is the official bi-monthly publication of the Sierra Club, reaching over 1 million members. Sierra is also a supporter of the America Canoe Association, Conservation Alliance, Outdoor Industry Women’s Coalition, and the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA). Over the past 100 years the Sierra Club has protected millions of miles of wild and scenic rivers and has led trips with thousands of paddlers at all skill levels and types of water.

For more information on Sierra magazine go to http://sierraclub.org/sierra,
Sierra Club Outings Trips go to http://sierraclub.org/outings/
Mission Outdoors Youth and Diversity Program go to http://www.sierraclub.org/diversity/
Water Sentinels go to: http://www.sierraclub.org/watersentinels.

RUTABAGA is a family-owned independent specialty retailer specializing in all aspects of paddlesports, including canoeing, kayaking and stand-up paddling. Rutabaga also presents Canoecopia, the world’s largest consumer paddlesports consumer show, and the Door County Sea Kayak Symposium held in Door County, Wisconsin. Rutabaga supports multiple charities dedicated to getting youth outside, including Big City Mountaineers and Sierra Club’s Inner City Outings. For more information go to http://www.rutabaga.com. Canoecopia information can be found at http://www.canoecopia.com. For information about the Door County Sea Kayak Symposium go to http://www/everyonepaddles.com.