Yonkers, NY - This February, the Yonkers Riverfront library is proud to present an exciting and educational exhibit about the Yonkers Paddling and Rowing Club (YPRC), formerly the Yonkers Canoe Club, currently celebrating its 126th year.

For years, the Yonkers Canoe Club sent many teams to national canoeing championships and brought home Olympic Gold in 1948. Today, YPRC is a community of paddlers and rowers who share a boathouse and a passion for human-powered boating.

YPRC members can be found on the river virtually every month of the year.  Each summer, the club’s highly-acclaimed free public kayaking program puts dozens of local children and adults into boats on the river; in the winter, the group sponsors a boat building workshop, and pool based skills and safety sessions.  Throughout the year members launch from our boathouse just north of the Yonkers Pier.  A hardy group even dons cold weather gear and paddles through the frigid waters.

This February, the library lobby will be home to eight full-sized YPRC kayaks: five boats  built by club members, a 1960s four-person racing kayak, and two plastic boats--a sea kayak loaned for the exhibit by Eastern Mountain Sports, typical of those used by most YPRC members, and a sit-on-top kayak  (the kind used in the public program). Visitors can examine the boats, a display of paddles of different  styles and from many traditions, and other related gear such as life vests, spray skirts, pumps and cold weather clothing.

This informative exhibit will also include photos of the club’s historic past and current activities and general information about kayaking. It will thrill children, school groups, and human-powered boat enthusiasts of any age.  YPRC members find adventure every day they paddle on the Hudson River. YPRC and the Riverfront Library invite the public to learn more about kayaking here in Yonkers and to join this great adventure.

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