Get your ticket to view the mighty Yukon River and a group of women paddlers who tackle the world's longest annual canoe and kayak race 740 kilometres from Whitehorse to Dawson City. The Paddler's Abreast team is captured in the National Film Board documentary "River of Life," which will be screened on Tuesday, March 11 at the National Library Auditorium, 395 Wellington Street.

 

A question and answer session with filmmaker Werner Walcher and some of the women featured in the documentary will follow the screening. Paddlers' Abreast is a Yukon-based group of breast cancer survivors who find strength in tackling together the grueling Yukon River Quest. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Proceeds will go to the Canadian Breast Cancer Network.

 

The documentary is called "River of Life," says Werner because it's not only about a journey down a river, but also a journey in dealing with breast cancer. 

 

The film captures the beauty of the Yukon River, with eagles, coyotes and other wildlife along its ridges, and the rough weather conditions of the 2006 race that featured high waves and almost constant rain. And it deftly illustrates the camaraderie the women develop as they train and attempt the race.

 

It's also about the effect breast cancer has on family members, many of whom act as support crew for the paddlers. Their husbands and other family members pitch the tents and prepare the food at the two mandatory stopovers along the Yukon River Quest route, and support the team during training. 

 

Training begins each year poolside in January and works up to partial runs on the river in preparation for the race each June. The Yukon River Quest was inaugurated in 1999, with kayaks and smaller canoes entering. In 2001, Paddlers Abreast became the first to tackle the race in a Voyageur canoe, and they've entered every year since. The idea of taking part in the Quest came from dragon boat racing by breast cancer survivors down south, but the concept was altered to fit the northern conditions.

 

"We don't do dragon boating up North. We don't have a dragon boat for one thing, and we don't have the sort of lakes or anything to do that on," said Cindy Gilday, a Paddlers Abreast member. "But we do have the River Quest that runs each year, so we thought we'd just put a big boat in there and try that out."

 

Walcher says he wants to show through the documentary that women with breast cancer can have full and active lives while raising awareness about breast cancer.

 

"When I did my research about this - looking all over the Internet - most of the videos are about self examination and the medical part, but there is hardly anything that talks about the positive points of view," notes Walcher. "I think with this film, we [paddlers and him] can share that even if you have breast cancer - and I don't want to hide the fact that people die from it - there is still a good chance for people to do things that they never dreamed of."

 

Come along for the ride at the National Library on Tuesday, March 11. Doors open at 6:30 pm, film starts at 7 pm.

 

To purchase tickets, contact Alicia Weiss, at the Canadian Breast Cancer Network at [log in to unmask] or 613-230-3044.

 

 

 

Jackie Manthorne

Executive Director/Directrice générale

Canadian Breast Cancer Network

Réseau canadien du cancer du sein

300-331, rue Cooper Street

Ottawa, ON K2P 0G5

613-230-3044 ext. 222

Fax/Téléc: 613-230-4424

1-800-685-8820

[log in to unmask]

www.cbcn.ca

 


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