Canoecopia show has been discontinued

Per a Canoecopia Facebook post by Darren Bush, Rutabaga Paddlesports/Canoecopia owner, announced he will close the store in December after a final sale and discontinue Canoecopia, the world’s largest paddlesports show. Canoecopia has been held for close to 50 years in Madison WI every March.

For the past year he has tried to find a suitable buyer for the business and failing to do so has decided to close the business.

I attended all shows since the early 1980’s and for the past 10-12 years it has been the weekend when many Wabakimi Project/Friends of Wabakimi members gathered and 6-8 of us long time paddling partners stayed at a members house in the Madison WI area. These good times will be missed.

I sincerely hope some entity picks up the reigns and continues the event. It's too far for me to effectively manage.

Sad news. ALtough i never been there. us/can needs a big anual paddling show/meet/event.

I think the primary difficulty in replicating a Canoecopia experience would be the merchandise stock and the speaker lineup. Without a sponsoring retailer, manufacturers would have to bring their own goods and point of sale systems, which could get tricky with state taxes. And a lot of the usual speakers live in traditional canoe country, so it might be difficult to draw a robust lineup.

I dunno, it's an idea at this point. I definitely can't compete with the prior scale, but maybe there is enough interest for a smaller event that can grow.