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How the Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race became the biggest event of its kind in New England

Apr. 14—The first running of the Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race came about because two friends thought it might be a fun idea to race canoes and kayaks in the spring of 1967.

Little did founders Sonny Colburn and Lew Gilman know that 55 years later, the race would still be going strong. After years of high water and low, through sunny days and freak snowstorms, and even after 2020, when the pandemic forced the cancellation of the event for the first time in its history, the Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race will be run for the 55th time this Saturday.