The eighth-annual Port Angeles Kayak Symposium is scheduled for April 11-13 at Hollywood Beach and the Red Lion Hotel, next to City Pier.

Admission to the symposium is free; event organizers ask participants donate $5 or nonperishable food items for the Port Angeles Food Bank.

The event features demos of a wide variety of kayaks, whitewater kayaks, canoes and gear from some of the leading manufacturers including Necky, Eddyline, Seaward, Ocean Kayak, Redfish Kayaks, and Werner and Swift Paddles.

Demo hours are: April 11, Noon-5 p.m.; April 12, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; and April 13, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Kayak gear also is available for purchase each day.

Clinics are scheduled for each day as well.

Keynote speakers — as yet unnamed — open the symposium with speeches on April 11-12. Entertainment includes live music on April 11 from Deadwood Revival at the Red Lion. (A small cover charge is needed to pay for the band; no minors allowed.)

On April 13, the symposium hosts the third-annual Coho Dodge and Dash Kayak Race, starting at 9 a.m.

The race is on a 3.6-nautical-mile course and open to all paddlers. Prizes include free nights at the Red Lion, gift certificates from Olympic Raft & Kayak and free one-year membership dues to Olympic Peninsula Paddlers Club.

Volunteers are needed for the event. For more information, call 452-1443 or see www.raftandkayak.com.

See list of kayak clinics, both on-the-water and off, online at www.raftandkayak.com/ks.html.