COLTON -- Raquette River Awareness Week runs from Saturday, July 28 to Saturday, Aug. 4 with many events, including the screening of a film about the Raquette, the opening of a new boat access trail to the river, and an evening paddle.

The events are coordinated by the Raquette River Blueway Corridor’s Advisory Committee.

Among the most important of those are the three screenings of “The Raquette River Experience,” a travel documentary about the river produced by the Raquette River Blueway Corridor’s partner, WPBS-DT, Watertown.

“The Raquette River Experience” will be shown at the Hawkins Point Visitors Center in Massena, 21 Hawkins Point Rd. at 1 p.m. Monday, July 30; in the Clarkson University Student Center Multi-Purpose Room in Potsdam at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 1; and at the Wild Center in Tupper Lake at 6 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 2.

There will also be three TV airdates for the documentary on WPBS-DT on Sunday, July 29 at 6 and 10:30 p.m., and at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 31.

Also during the week is the official opening of a canoe access trail to the Raquette River near Moody Falls on Sunday, July 29. The Laurentian Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club has been working with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to establish a new trail to the Raquette River on conservation easement land near Moody Falls in Sevey’s Corners. The work is now complete and an official opening will take place at 10 a.m. on State Rt. 56 about a mile north of the intersection with State Rt. 3. It is marked with a Canoe Access sign. For further information about this event contact John Barron at (613) 828-2296 or johnbarron@sympatico.ca.

There will be a Sunset Paddle off of Potsdam’s Ives Park on Thursday, Aug. 2. Paddlers will meet at 6:30 p.m. near the boat launch and will return around 7:30 p.m. Bring your canoes, personal flotation devices, and kayaks and enjoy the Raquette River.

There will be other events during Raquette River Awareness Week. To find out more visit the temporary website at https://www.sites.google.com/site/raquetteriverbluewaycorridorny/ or contact Nicole Cline at 265-1670 or ncline@vi.potsdam.ny.us.

The Raquette River Blueway Corridor’s Advisory Committee is a community-based organization including residents of communities along the river, local chambers of commerce, private businesses, recreational groups, museums and state and local government officials. The group’s aim is to build a sustainable tourism economy and to revitalize communities by using the outdoor, heritage, and cultural assets of the Raquette River.