By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press
HALDIMAND—Hungry for a little taste of homegrown adventure and excitement? Look no further than new short film The Grand, which highlights Guelph resident Tom Ostapchuk’s attempts to paddle the entire 300+km length of the Grand River in an eight-day stretch.
The film began to form when Ostapchuk returned to Ontario after a couple years living in BC, where he and his wife frequently enjoyed the vast Canadian wilderness available there: “It was like an outdoor playground on a massive scale. It started to shape our identity of what we wanted to do.”
Back in Ontario, he felt cut-off from the adventurous lifestyle he had cultivated, leading him to search for a ‘BC-level’ adventure close to home. Recalling his childhood paddling trips on the Grand River with his mom, inspiration struck.
“I was on Google maps looking around and I began to wonder if anybody had paddled the entire thing, from where the water first trickles out of the ground all the way to Lake Erie,” said Ostapchuk. “I wanted to do it in a way that sort of symbolized and replicated what I loved about the west coast adventure: self-supported, everything on the boat, and a back country trip.”
From there, he began planning his trip. An initial attempt at the journey in 2021 ended in failure, largely due to lockdown-related restrictions postponing his trip from the spring, when river levels are much higher, into summer, where the journey proved insurmountable.
However, with encouragement from his wife, Ostapchuk persevered, setting out on a second attempt, this time with a production company, Angry Whale Media, a production team on board, and sponsors, including Haldimand County, to back the project.
“Having all of that, it was like a snowball started rolling,” said Ostapchuk.
Ultimately, Ostapchuk took April 30 to May 7, 2022 to complete his journey, which included multiple stops along the way to speak with a variety of people with connections to the river.
He touched on some of the personal insights learned from his journey: “I don’t think of it as a wild place when I drive over it on the 401, or when I walk along it. When you paddle down it, you experience a side of the river that still maintains its wilderness.”
He recalled seeing bald eagles pluck fish out of the water, herds of deer grazing in the upper Grand, and hearing coyotes running by at night. He added, “There is this wilderness that is right here and is almost under the surface. That insight, for me, was such a powerful connection.”
The final leg of Ostapchuk’s journey took him straight through Haldimand, which he called a “magical experience.”
“There’s a stretch between Caledonia and Cayuga. There are two sections of islands … (that) almost felt like I was floating through a jungle. There were these small passageways and overarching trees that drooped over the water as the river moved away from the highway,” he explained. “There were challenging sections. The corner after Cayuga where the river bends east and then curves southeast towards Dunnville, there were high winds and big open water – it was like paddling on a lake. It was this huge space. In some senses it was overwhelming…. It felt like you were in a place bigger than yourself.”
He continued, “The feeling of turning that final bend past Byng Island where you finally head south and see the Port Maitland lighthouse and those sparkling blue waters of Lake Erie, that emotion was one that overwhelmed me, not only in the sense of being able to complete the film and my dream, but having a sense of connection that didn’t’ necessarily exist at the beginning of the river; it really hits home when you reach the lake at Port Maitland.”
That moment is captured in the film, as Ostapchuk is overcome with emotion steering his kayak toward the end of his journey.
Haldimand County Manager of Tourism and Economic Development (EDT) Lidy Romanuk commented on why the County chose to back Ostapchuk’s film, explaining, “EDT saw the value in featuring this magnificent heritage river in a documentary that would highlight the beauty of a paddling experience while also respecting the sensitivity of the environment.”
In addition to providing a financial contribution, County staff assisted with identifying ideal locations for the shoots, points of interest, and places to rest, camp, and eat. Romanuk added, “We connected Mr. Ostapchuk to our local historian and staff person Karen Richardson, from the Cayuga Library + Heritage Centre, and provided background materials on the area.”
She said that while the river is identified by the County as “one of our most important tourism assets,” it is underutilized from a tourism perspective. “Having a world class documentary which features our area is a great way to promote Haldimand.”
She concluded, “The key in securing our participation was Tom himself; he wasn’t looking at this film as a money maker, but as a passion project. He wanted to share it with a wider audience at film festivals and other venues, as well as eventually have it available for free to view online. His love for paddling the Grand River was infectious.”
The Grand will have its world premiere at the Paddling Film Festival World Tour at the Princess Cinemas in Kitchener on March 23, 2023. Ostapchuk is planning for further screenings at locations along the river, including a planned screening at the Dunnville Farmer’s Market with a date to be set for later this summer.
