BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Come one paddler, come all paddlers. Baltimore’s annual fleet returns to the Inner Harbor for its fifth year in June, bringing kayaks, canoes and paddleboards to the heart of Baltimore.
The event, organized by the Baltimore Waterfront Partnership, is a fundraiser for the Healthy Harbor Initiative, which provides a roadmap to cleaning up the inner harbor and the waterways leading to it.
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The Healthy Harbor Initiative runs trash cans, grows oysters in the harbor, a community beautification grant program, environmental education, and other harbor health programs.
The Waterfront Partnership has raised over $10,000 from each flotilla, and this year the The partnership aims to surpass its goal of $10,000 through a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign on its registration page.
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This year, the event has a pirate-themed scavenger hunt format. Each attendee will receive a map directing them to ‘treasures’ around the harbor where they can collect special coins that can be exchanged for an event t-shirt.
Each treasure will highlight an environmental or historical gem of the Baltimore waterfront, the partnership said.
“We are seeing more and more interest in recreation in Inner Harbor,” said Adam Lindquist, vice president of environmental programs and initiatives at the Waterfront Partnership. “With the growing popularity of Inner Harbor Kayak Tours and the addition of B’more Sup to the Inner Harbor last year, we are thrilled to see the Inner Harbor becoming more recognized for the recreational resource that he is and can be.”
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The event will take place on Saturday, June 4, from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Learn more about the flotilla and register here.