The premiere began with a journey to the Ecuadorian Amazon, it raced down the Grand Canyon, adventured across Greenland, SUP surfed in Tofino, descended a gorge in Northern Pakistan, island hopped across a deadly strait to Tasmania and then played below the surface on the Cheat River Narrows before embarking on a canoe journey of reconciliation.

MacGregor believes the festival’s ongoing success is based on three things: “The World Tour bring communities of people together; it inspires audiences to go and explore; and most often the screenings are used as fundraisers to support local non-profits doing good things.”

Last night’s host, The Complete Paddler raised $2500 for Project Canoe, a non-profit focused on improving the lives of youth through outdoor adventure.

Since Rapid Media launched the festival back in 2006, the World Tour has screened 959 times to more than 282,864 audience members. Rapid Media has awarded $71,000 to paddling filmmakers and helped raise tens of thousands of dollars for charitable causes. The Paddling Film Festival World Tour has grown to become one of the largest paddling events in the world.