Adventure briefs for May 1

Learn to improve backcountry dining

The Olympia Mountaineers Adventure Speaker Series will conclude for the season Wednesday with a backcountry food workshop led by Dixie Havlak.

Attendees will learn how to turn their favorite meals into a lightweight, nonperishable, tasty backcountry dish for a backpack, canoe, kayak, or bicycle trip.

Havlak will quiz people to learn what foods are most appropriate for their style: no-cooking, hot water only or creative cooking. She will have samples to allow people to taste test dehydrated and freeze-dried foods and learn the difference. She will also let people join demonstrations of backcountry baking and meal preparation, and talk about how to deal with the realities of dishwashing, cooking equipment and bear canisters.

The evening will begin with a potluck dinner and social hour at 6 p.m. Bring a dish to share (perhaps your favorite backcountry meal), as well as your own plate and flatware. The program will start at 7 p.m. The event is at the Friends Meeting House at Priest Point, 3201 Boston Harbor Road, Olympia.

Sailing ships receives federal grant

Sound Experience will receive a $200,000 grant to work on the schooner Adventuress.

The group will use the funds for a deck renewal project on the sailing ship that provides education programs, dockside tours and public sailings around Puget Sound.

The grant was just one awarded by the National Park Service, in partnership with the Maritime Administration. Projects in 19 states will share $2.58 million in Maritime Heritage Program grants, meant to preserve sites and objects related to the nation’s maritime history, according to a Park Service news release.

The Adventuress project was the only one in Washington to receive a grant this time.

The 133-foot, two-masted sailing ship was launched in 1913.

You can learn more about visiting the ship, or taking part in a sailing trip, at soundexp.org.

Discuss future of paddlesports

Paddlers and outdoor recreation enthusiasts are invited to an evening of presentations and discussions about the future of paddlesports in the state. “Washington Paddlesports: A Path to the Future” will take place Thursday in Seattle.

The event is being hosted by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission’s Boating Safety Program and Washington Water Trails Association.

There will be time to meet and talk with representatives from paddling organizations and agencies. There will also be several presentations on paddling in Washington.

The event will be from 5-9 p.m. at the REI store at 222 Yale Ave. N., Seattle.

If you plan to attend, register at rei.com/events.

If you want to learn more about paddlesports, attend the Northwest Paddling Festival Friday and Saturday at Lake Sammamish State Park.

This story was originally published April 30, 2016 at 6:45 PM with the headline "Adventure briefs for May 1."