Yes, you read that headline right. On Friday, December 16th, Tumalo Creek Kayak & Canoe is hosting a Christmas kayaking event. This is the press release:

Every year, Bend’s most dedicated paddling enthusiasts dress up their canoes and kayaks in holiday garb and paddle around the Deschutes River for a few hours. This is one of those events that gets the whole town in the spirit and feels very authentic to Bend.

This event normally takes place on Mirror Pond, but this year it is being moved to the Old Mill District. Festive kayakers should meet down at Tumalo Creek Kayak & Canoe on Friday, December 16, 2011 at 3:30 p.m. with decorated kayaks and canoes. After the crowd assembles, the group will depart from the dock behind the shop and paddle upstream up to the Columbia Bridge (near Red Robin). On the way back down, the lighted boats will assemble in formation under the Old Mill’s Flag Bridge. This will give family and friends the opportunity to take photographs of the decorated boats.

In past years, the paddler’s of Bend have gone all out decorating their boats with lights, trees, wreaths and garlands. Bring some holiday cheer to your paddling experience and be a part of this longstanding Bend tradition.

Which sounds pretty cool actually, much like the Mirror Pond water pageant that took place on the Fourth of July from the ’30s through the ’60s.