Flappers and card sharks, gangsters and molls, hippies and celebrities. At the Ladies of the Lake Symposium, held every August in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the question of what to wear applies as much to the Saturday night costume party as it does to paddling gear.
Themes for the all-women event’s Werner Paddles party have included the Roaring ‘20s, Las Vegas, Prom, Woodstock and the Oscars. Each year, the costumes increase in creativity and complexity.
Shopping at thrift stores and raiding closets is all part of the fun says West Coast paddling instructor Cindy Scherrer (above, far right), a regular coach and carouser at the event. “It’s usually a cooperative effort with several friends,” she reveals, “We pool the things we find and have a great time putting it together.”
Ladies of the Lake founder Bill Thompson credits Werner Paddles’ Danny Mongno for the unusual tradition…
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