FORT MYERS BEACH, FLA (April, 2005) - The Great Calusa Blueway Paddling Festival, the premier, professional and amateur paddling event for Lee County, is a first-time festival slated for October 7 – 13, 2005. According to event organizer, Liane Crawford-Smith, Marketing Communications Manager for SunStream Hotels & Resorts, “We believe The Great Calusa Blueway Paddling Festival will become a one-of-a-kind, county-wide, signature event, just as the Calusa Blueway Paddling Trail has been certified and recognized for its uniqueness, and as a “must do” attraction for Lee County visitors.”

The organization and its volunteers have clearly identified our goals and objectives for this first event, as well as the long-term vision for what the event can become. We are working hand-in-hand with the Lee County Parks and Recreation, Lee County Sports Authority, Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau, and our non-profit partner, the Society for Ethical Ecotourism in Southwest Florida (SEESWFLA), Paddling Clubs throughout Lee County and Florida, and Geocaching, Kayak and Canoe Associations nationwide. In addition, we are working closely with our historic attractions on the trail such as the Mound Key Archaeological State Park, Kayak and Canoe Outfitters and Guides to view sunrises and sunsets, bird rookeries, manatees and dolphins, shelling, archaeology and history. Starlight and full-moon excursions will be special treats offered throughout the weeklong festivities. For those of you who want to go it alone or at a more leisurely pace, there will be two Island Paddle Club Roundabouts. Cool Stuff Vendors and Sponsor Exhibits will be located at each of the three host resorts. Our seminar schedule will round out the event for all ages and levels of expertise.

We are beginning our first year with three key locations for the festival, but anticipate as the event grows each year, that it will incorporate 100 miles of the Calusa Blueway Paddling Trail and 100 miles of Festival events, all along The Great Calusa Blueway Paddling Trail in Lee County.

The first phase of the Great Calusa Blueway paddling trail opened a year ago through Southwest Florida's wildlife-rich Estero Bay, near the popular resort areas of Fort Myers Beach, and invites paddlers from around the world to explore the fabled back bays, rivers, backwaters and shorelines, inlets, and estuaries. The second phase, which is slated to be completed in June of 2005, will extend northwards through Pine Island Sound and Matlacha Pass.

The paddling is never wild, but promises easy-access escape from some of the more excessive tourist privations common to this part of the world. The festival has been designed to attract out-of-county paddle clubs, long-distance endurance paddlers, families, and birders alike, and has been scheduled during non-peak season in order to generate hotel, motel and campground revenue producing room nights. The Calusa Blueway Geocaching™ Treasure Hunt is a trademarked, signature package created by Santa Maria Harbour Resort. This component has been designed for families, and those more interested in a leisurely approach to The Great Calusa Blueway. Kayakers and canoeists can revel in the variety of their natural surrounds: paddle alongside playful dolphins; log some 300 species of birds including egrets, bald eagles, pelicans, herons, egrets, ospreys, roseate spoonbills and wood storks; disappear into the rivulets of countless inland waterways and gnarled mangroves. They will undoubtedly paddle next to dolphins or manatees. It's inevitable. The festival will officially kick off with a Media Blitz, and the “Official Opening” of The Great Calusa Blueway Paddle Trail with dignitaries on Friday, October 7, 2005 at 9 am at Santa Maria Harbour Resort.

The event is sponsored in part by Santa Maria Harbour Resort, the only condo resort on Estero Bay in a marina setting, from the exclusive collection of SunStream Hotels & Resorts. Presenting and Title Sponsorships are available yet. Interested businesses may contact Liane Crawford-Smith at (239)765-4111 or via email at lianec@sunstream.com for the 2005 Sponsorship Application packet.

Detailed information including the $10,000 Fifty Mile Kayak Challenge, the Estero Island Roundabout Paddle, The Pine Island Paddle, Starlight and Full Moon Paddles, Mound Key Archaeological State Park Paddling Trip and Santa Maria Harbour Resort’s exclusive signature Calusa Blueway Geocaching™ packages are available online at santamariafl.com or check out the Web site for The Great Calusa Blueway Paddling Festival October 7-13, 2005 at www.calusabluewayfestival.com . For more information on the overall event, please call (239) 765-4111.