Floatfest fills recreational canal
A really cool way to beat the heat draws hundreds of people to Welland
Welland’s recreational canal was packed with massive unicorns, flamingos, swans, mattresses, pineapples, tubes and piazza slices Sunday afternoon.
On those various floating inflatables were at least 2,000 people taking part in the third annual Floatfest at the Lincoln Street Docks.
Floatfest spokeswoman Leanna Villella said 1,500 people preregistered for the event and added there were at least another 500 people signing up in the morning.
“There seems to be a lot more people interested,” Villella said.
Phil Gladman, who led the charge organizing the first event in 2016, credited Floatfest’s success on a combination of factors.
“It’s all different things people enjoy doing. From the event itself to being on the water, seeing people they know from the community, having awesome vendors, seeing local bands and having that live entertainment …
all those factors put together make for a really excellent event,” said Gladman, who ended up on the water himself.
While Floatfest participants were to stay between the train bridge to the south and the Lincoln Street Bridge to the north, wind out of the south pushed inflatables farther north up the recreational canal.
Villella said it was for safety and insurance reasons that a designated area had to be set.
Said Gladman, “We want to keep everyone protected.”
Villella said there were at least 16 open-water certified lifeguards watching over participants and there were four SeaDoos and two Zodiacs on the water as well.
“They’re very experienced,” she said of the lifeguards.
Villella the Sea-Doos were there to tow people who strayed beyond Lincoln Street Bridge.
They were put to use and towed large groups of inflatables that had drifted north to at least Division Street Bridge. Some people found their own way out of the water and were seen walking down canal trails back to Lincoln Street with their inflatables.
Both Gladman and Villella said people were welcome to drift past Lincoln Street on their own, but if they wanted to remain part of Floatfest, they had to stay in the designated area.
While people were drifting down the recreational canal, there was live entertainment on the main stage, and food and other vendors.
Gladman said there were more vendors at this year’s event and credited volunteers for helping make it a success. He said there were up to 80 people volunteering.
Mayor Frank Campion said thought Floatfest was awesome.
“It’s something that’s really catching on. The organizers really do a great job getting the message out … spreading the word in Welland and beyond.”
He said the city wants more festive kind of events, with high participation that anyone can attend, in that area of the canal, whether it be the city itself that puts something on or an outside group.
“Floatfest is a communitydriven event, this is not a city event. I love that kind of partnership.”