City of Hobart residents are celebrating as the 2015 Lakefront Festival was in full swing Friday evening. Families and festival-goers were taking in all the attractions at the 24th Annual event hosted at Festival Park along beautiful Lake George. Food vendors and arts and crafts booths lined the roadways along with attractions for everyone, young and old.
This years Festival runs from Thursday to Sunday and is packed with events and entertainment featuring rockin’ live bands and the Hobart Jaycees Beer Garden as well as inflatable slides and obstacle courses for children. Friday night features the Lion’s Club Steak Fry and Saturday is a Spaghetti Dinner hosted by the Hobart Elks Lodge.
Click here to see more photos from the Hobart Lakefront Festival!
One of the major attractions over the last few years has been the ‘Cardboard Regatta’ which a boat race in which competitors make their vessel entirely out of cardboard and duct tape.
“Everyone just has a blast,” said Hobart Parks Superintendent, John Mitchell. “We’ve got a lot of groups and organizations involved this year and some of them have their boats all painted and decorated. We give out awards after the race and there’s a Winner Award, a Most Creative Award and the Titanic Award for the boat that doesn’t make it. The course starts at the dock and goes out about 100 yards, around a buoy and back to the start. These boats are cardboard so they’re easy to put in the water but they are so heavy after that we can’t use the same method to take them as we did to put them in.”
“What’s cool is all the spectators that come out to watch,” said Mitchell. “We had between 200 and 300 people last year and we’re hoping to have around 400 people this year. We have the Fire Department out there in their boats and all the participants will be wearing life vests. It’s just a great time and safe.”
“We have ten boats signed up this year which is the most we’ve ever had,” said Julie Mandon, Parks Recreation and Operations Coordinator. “We’ve got a lot of kid entries so we’re counting on it being a great time. This is my 4th year working at the Lakefront Festival and it’s grown every year. Each year we get more and better bands. There used to be one band a day now we have music going all day and night. The growth of ‘food trucks’ has been a big plus as well. This year we have over forty food vendors and trucks and over forty arts and crafts booths here. We also have fireworks Friday and Saturday nights at 9pm. There’s a lot of things happening and it’s going to be a great weekend.”
Another major attraction to the Lakefront Festival is the ‘Dam Duck Race’ hosted by the Hobart Community Foundation.
“We’ve got 4000 ducks with a number on the bottom and the winner will have the matching number on their ticket which are $5 each or 5 for $20. On Sunday at 3pm we dump all 4000 duck over the dam. The money we raise has paid for the park and been used for various grants. Our grant committee gives out money every year depending on what we make at our events throughout the year. Since 2011 we’ve raised $61,000 that’s gone back in Hobart.”
To find out more about the 24th Annual Lakefront Festival go to: http://www.cityofhobart.org/.