After having spent the past week celebrating in Estero, kayak and canoe enthusiasts will make their way to Pine Island for more activities during this year’s Great Calusa Blueway Paddling Festival. Over a three-day period organizers of the event will offer a long list of activities for kayakers and canoeist of all skill levels.

Beginning on Friday, Oct. 30, the Paddling Festival events will kick off with a Calusa Costume Ball at the Tarpon Lodge in Pineland. Touted as a one-of-a-kind event, the Costume Ball will take place from 7:30 to 11 p.m. and those attending are asked to dress in period costumes from the 1500s through the 1700s. Suggested garb includes conquistadors, queens, dukes and duchesses as well as Calusa Indians and pirates.

Tickets to attend the Calusa Costume Ball are $35 per person and includes a drink and appetizers, story telling and re-enactments courtesy of Calusa Ghost Tours. Music also will be provided by live minstrels and door prizes will be drawn throughout the evening. Some of the prizes include a weekend stay for two at the Tarpon Lodge and a grand drawing will be held for an RTM kayak.

Following the naming of the queen and king of the ball, attendees will move across the street to Randell Research Center’s Calusa Heritage Trail for a guided moonlight walk onto a Calusa mound where more story telling will take place. Tickets must be purchased in advance as no tickets will be sold at the door. For more information, go to calusabluewaypaddlingfestival.com

Also on Friday, guided kayak tours will be available on the Matlacha Blueway from 8:40 to 11 a.m. Mel the Guide of Gulf Coast Kayak will lead the group through the Matlacha section of the 190 mile Blueway Trail. The cost to participate will be $45 per person or $30 for those with their own boats. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 941-661-8229 or 283-1125.

Also available will be another guided tour called Larry’s Lagoon from 9 to 11 a.m. An Adventures in Paradise naturalist will guide this tour through mangrove trails where paddlers may catch sight of wading birds, fish, dolphins and manatee. The cost to participate is $30 for adults and $15 for children. Those will kayaks of their own will pay $25 and for reservations, call 472-8443 or 437-1660.

More kayaking will take place in Matlacha from 9 a.m. to noon with a guided tour provided by Kayak Excursions. This group will leave the kayak launch at the Matlacha Community Park and will travel north along the eastern shore of Little Pine Island. The cost to participate will be $50 per person.

Later that day, paddle the Matlacha Blueway from 1 to 3 p.m. with Mel the Guide of Gulf Coast Kayaks. This trip will cost $45 per person or $30 for those with their own boats. To register, call 941-661-8229 or 283-1125.

Finishing up the day will be a Matlacha Sunset-Moonlit kayak tour from 6 to 8 p.m. The group will paddle along the Blueway to take in a spectacular Matlacha sunset and will cost $45 per person or $30 for those with boats. For reservations, call Mel the Guide at 941-661-8229 or 283-1125.

On Saturday, Oct. 31, the festivities continue with more guided kayak trips and a fishing tournament which will take place from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Cash prizes will be awarded for first, second and third place as well as additional prizes which include hotel stays at the Crown Plaza, Holiday Inn Express and Springhill Suites by Marriott and more. for more information about the fishing tournament, visit calusabluewaypaddlingfestival.com

For those who prefer to remain on dry ground, Randell Research Center will offer numerous speakers at the Pineland site from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The site will also host several Calusa Indian craft and skills exhibitors, guided walking tours of the mounds, community organization exhibitors and more. Also on hand will be the MOTE Marine “Aquarium on Wheels.” The 1,200-gallon exhibit includes a display of tropical and subtropical fish species and includes a touch tank where visitors can get a hands on experience with critters like starfish, sea urchins, horshoe crabs and marine snails.

The speakers for the Saturday event include the following:

10 a.m. – Michael Wylde from Randell Research Center will provide an update on the current research being conducted on the site’s Mound 5.

11 a.m. – Bill Richards of Paddle Florida will review the recently completed event which took place on the Suwannee River and will revel next year’s schedule.

12 p.m. – Don McCumer and Mike Devlin of 21st Century Kayaks will construct a 21st Century kayak from a kit in less than an hour.

1 p.m. – Morgan Palmer, NBC-2, meteorologist will provide a look at the hurricane season, winter forecasts and will take questions on weather.

2 p.m. – Scott Hoffman, writer/photographer/film maker, will share pictures, film and music along with his stories about kayaking in Alaska, China, South America, Siberia and other locations.

3 p.m. – Dominick Greco, pro angler, kayak instructor and host of television’s Kayak Charters will share effective lures and retrieval techniques as well as new gear and how to use it, how to read the water and locating productive fishing water.

The day will culminate at 4 p.m. when the awards are presented to the winners of this year’s kayak fishing tournament.

Other guided kayak tours will continue to be conducted throughout Saturday and will include a trip from Pineland to Fosters Bayou from 9 a.m. to noon, a paddle from Pineland to Cabbage Key from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., a trip to Calusa Island from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., guided tour of St. James Creek from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., a paddling trip following the path taken by famous explorer, Frank Cushing from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., paddling the Matlacha Blueway from 1 to 3 p.m. and finally paddling in Matlacha to watch the sunset from 6 to 8 p.m.

The activities continue into Sunday, Nov. 1, with a kayak race at the Matlacha Community Park and Bluegrass for the Blueway featuring the McIltrot Brothers on the green in the park from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. In addition, many of the same guided kayak tours that were conducted on Friday and Saturday will be offered once again on Sunday.

For more information about the Great Calusa Blueway Paddling Festival, visit calusabluewaypaddlingfestival.com or call 707-6485 or 433-3855.