 Labor Day weekend in Lake County is best enjoyed out on the waterways. Kayaks, canoes and paddle boards could be seen on Go Lake as part of the annual paddle-palooza event. Sarah Winckelman has that story. The mission of paddle-palooza is simple. Grab your paddle, get out on the water, and enjoy. To see everybody as a group, as a whole, paddle in across the lake together, and especially when we have weather like this, and so there's everybody's happy, everybody's in a good mood. A positive attitude to keep in mind as summer comes to a close. It's the end of the summer, and I just, I couldn't think of a better way to just, you know, get one more blast of sun, a nice crispy sunburn, you know, all that kind of stuff. So, yeah, it just makes me happy. Evans started the event four years ago to unite like-minded people who just want to enjoy their time out on the lakes. We're in paddleboard races, and we just noticed, or I noticed that we had limited participation because not that many people want to actually go out and race a paddleboard or a canoe or anything like that, but the, you know, the idea of just going out on a really fun group paddle is more inviting. Nearly 80 people of all different ages headed out on Lake Niswa and either their kayak, paddleboard, or canoe to make the five-mile trip to Gull Lake. It's nice to see everybody out on the water, and not in a fast boat, but just enjoying the leisure of kayaking and canoeing and just being out there and taking your time and enjoying the, the waterways. Yep, and it's nice not to have to feel rushed because I'm not a fast kayaker, I like to just kind of enjoy the scenery. Along the route, paddlers took a break about halfway for a barbecue, and then once the whole group gathered, they continued on their way to their final stop at Zorba's. Any time you can get people together to be active and do things actively outside is, is just a great thing. Besides the food and exercise benefit, paddlers attend a paddlepalooza each year to benefit local charities. I'm raising money for the heart animal shelter, so that's important test because we're dog lovers. Ten percent of ticket sales and additional donations were given to Heart Animal Rescue and Discovery Horse in Fort Ripley. Reporting in Niswa, Sarah Winkleman, Lakeland News. Paddlerpalooza continues on goal late next year with the possibility of additional locations in the future. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.