Lake Worth raft race theme: ‘Race to the Zoo’
City commissioner dives into fun at annual event he helped start.
Great American Raft Race on July 4 will feature life-sized squirrel, walrus and flamingo among extremely competitive rafters.
LAKE WORTH — Want to check out a sight at Lake Worth’s 17th annual Great American Raft Race on July 4?
Look for Lake Worth City Commissioner Herman Robinson dressed as a squirrel.
“The theme is ‘Race to the Zoo,’” he said, laughing. “Which isn’t easy to put a name on individually. They’ll also be a walrus and a flamingo. We go by size.”
Robinson helped start the craze, organized by the Neighborhood Association Presidents Council, in 2001 and it has since grown considerably in size.
“We’re up to over 1,000 people coming out,” Robinson said. “The idea was to get our neighbors to work together, have a good time doing it and to share the camaraderie of Lake Worth. We celebrate our waterfront.”
The raft race starts at 2 p.m. on the Intracoastal as a bunch of extremely competitive rafters battle for supremacy and bragging rights for the year.
“It’s open to anyone,” said Anna-Maria Windisch-Hunt, who handles marketing and publicity for the race. “There are no rules other than it has to be a craft that’s all hand-built.”
Windisch-Hunt said there are 16 teams.
“It’s craziness, but it’s a fun craziness,” she said.
Windisch-Hunt said Elle Frost, 11, will have her artwork on all the T-shirts.
All the fun starts at 11:30 a.m. with the annual Raft Race Parade to Bryant Park, where residents parade down Lucerne Avenue to the Intracoastal Waterway carrying their makeshift rafts.
She said the race now lasts about two hours.
“When we didn’t have a lot of participants, it was over in a flash,” she said. “But now things happen during the race. People sink and sometimes they don’t make it, but no one has been hurt.”
There also will be several prerace parties in downtown Lake Worth before the July 4 event or as Neighborhood Association Presidents’ Council President Jon Faust told city commissioners Tuesday night — the shenanigans.
There will be a captain’s meeting on June 24 at the Blue Front Bar & Grill. Other bars and restaurants participating will be Lilo’s Streetfood & Bar, Matthew’s Brewing, C.W.S. Bar + Kitchen, Benny’s on the Beach, The Beach Club at the Golf Course and the Mad Hatter.
“We are now in the homestretch for the 17th annual Great American Raft Race,” Faust said. “Hope to see you all there.”