Franklin Paddle Association debuts

Franklin Paddle Association, a newly-created group of paddling enthusiasts, will be hosting its very first “Launch Party” on the Bayou this Saturday.
Set for 9 a.m. to noon on Teche Drive in Franklin, anyone with a paddle craft (canoe, kayak, etc.) is invited as well as anyone interested in the sport.
Outfitter the Backpacker, located in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, will be at the event with a trailer of kayaks and paddle boards for public use.
Bobby Hines of Youngsville, a Franklin native, said the concept began when he and his brother, David, began kayaking a few years ago.
“We wanted to do something in Franklin,” Hines said. “Something to do with kayaks and paddleboards and maybe even open up a brick-and-mortar shop. But I’ve never really seen a group 3of people get together in the bayou and using this natural waterway that we have like they do in Austin or in Arkansas. I just want to see that in Franklin.”
Hines said he created the group to build momentum “based on paddling and getting on the water. Our community was built on the water.”
He said he attended a presentation where the presenter “bypasses government and permitting and all these things that get in the way of progress sometimes and creates a real-life vision of what these depressed areas in historic towns can look like if revived. It can be done without spending a ton of time on budgets, just getting together and doing it. I’m from Franklin, my family’s there.”
Hines said that presentation was “inspirational.” He left that encounter with a timeline and the creation of the Franklin Paddling Association.
“I wanted people to get involved in this, people that normally would have waited for somebody else to get engaged,” he said.
Backpacker, an outdoors outfitter based in Lafayette and Baton Rouge, does demos of paddle vessels. Hines contacted the company and they eagerly agreed to come to Franklin for the morning.
“It’s all for free,” Hines said. “Just come out and use it.”
Some 34 people have registered, with more expected Saturday morning.
Hines hopes to keep holding the event once a month. “The plan is getting more people involved, and get people to consider opening businesses in town,” he said. “We’re setting up a pop-up coffee shop under a tent, using a local roast out of Lafayette. That’s kind of the idea that I’d like to see.”