Editor's picks: Power Boat Nationals
The weather forecast for this long holiday weekend is fantastic, and what better way to get out and enjoy it than to check out the Power Boat Nationals.
The races bring boat drivers from all over the country to the Kankakee area and provide plenty of high-speed entertainment, right in our own backyard.
Events begin Saturday and run through Monday. While spectators gather on both sides of the river, most public events are held at River Road Park near Kankakee Community College. Besides the races, events include live music on Saturday and Sunday nights, a beer tent, food vendors, games for the kids, a Guitar Hero competition, and a Buffalo wing eating competition.
One of my favorite events to watch is the Cardboard Boat Races. Registration and construction begins Saturday at 11 a.m., and the race begins at approximately 5 p.m. Watching people build the boats is almost as much fun as watching them sink 20 seconds into the race. Some people take the design and construction of the boats very seriously; others treat it like a school assignment that they can bomb and not get in trouble — which is to say they invest relatively little time or thought in it, but have a whole lot of fun goofing around pretending to be working.
More information about the weekend’s races and a full schedule of events can be found at the Kankakee Power Boat Nationals Web site.
Thanks to the Kankakee Valley Park District for stepping up to be the title sponsor for the event, and all the sponsors, including The Daily Journal. Without their support, there’s a good chance Kankakee wouldn’t have been able to host the event this year. Thanks, too, to Joe Walz of Holiday Inn Express and Suites. He keeps a low profile, but he’s really the man behind this event and the reason it’s been in our community the last several years.
As a side note, three years ago I got to ride in one of the boats before the races started. (Joe gets credit for arranging that, too.) It was a blast. I think the boat was going over 100 miles per hour, and I would get plastered against the side during the turns. I was wearing a helmet and had lots of straps around me, though, so I got out in one piece. Here are two pictures that my husband (who was my somewhat nervous boyfriend at the time) took of my ride.
