By ANNIE DOCKERY
The Belton Journal
The Belton Lions Club is hosting the second annual Lions on The Leon Captain “D” 5K Dash, Picnic in the Park and Wacky Boat Race on Saturday, October 5 from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. at Heritage Park in Belton.
The festive event will have music, food, vendors, pumpkin decorating, face painting, Quacky duck pond, bounce house, inflatable games and more.
There are many cities where this type of event has been started. It creates another unique event where the community can come together in a family atmosphere. This event with music, vendors, food and entertainment is more than just a wacky fun-filled boat race. It is a community event.
“We hope that there will be individuals and organizations that will challenge others to build a boat and beat theirs. We invite other civic organizations to try to beat the ‘Black Pearl’ pirate ship with her Captain ‘D’ Jack Sparrow. Fire departments, police departments as well as city departments can all join this friendly competition,” said Danny Dossman with the Belton Lions Club.
Boats must be people-powered – no motors. There are two main categories for judging: cardboard and wacky open. Each boat must be able to float and have a tow line attached. Boats will line up at 11 a.m. for People’s Choice judging. These boats are to be built by whomever is brave enough to get on them.
Boats can be simple raft-like or much more complex. They can be for one person or more than one. The main thing that the Belton Lions Club is asking is that they are wacky in design. There are also individual and commercial entries. With the commercial category, it is a great opportunity for a business to get their name out. Their boats could be designed to match their business.
The hope is that individuals and businesses will have fun creating and building these boats as well as sailing them on the Leon. There are examples of boats (on the Belton Lions Club website) that can be built. But the Internet is a great source for designs – merely search wacky, boat race and you will find plenty of examples. These boats need not be difficult to build. Keep it simple. If it floats, you have a boat.
The 5K Fun Run/Walk/Crawl travels throughout Heritage Park and along the Leon River, ending at the Picnic in the Park, where every 5K participant will receive a custom commemorative spinner race medal and have their picture taken with Captain “D” and the Black Pearl. Participants are welcome to come in Pirate Costume to compete for an award.
Proceeds from the family fun-filled event helps the Belton Lions Club serve the local community with events.
Karen Stagner with the Belton Lions Club said, “The club supports the Texas Lions Camp for Children who are physically disabled, hearing/vision impaired or diabetic; eye exams/glasses for children in Belton I.S.D., two annual college scholarships for Belton graduating seniors; Lion’s Pavilion and Playground for Children with Special Needs – Heritage Park; holiday food baskets for families of children with special needs for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas; Heartbeat Angel Christmas Project for Belton I.S.D. underserved children; and Christmas with Santa for families of children with special needs.“
Award categories include 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place Cardboard Category; 1st, 2nd, 3rd Place Wacky; Open Category; President’s Award; People’s Choice; and Jackpot Race.
For a copy of the boat race entry form and rules visit www.beltonlionsclub.com.
Register at: www.funrunsignup.com/race/tx/belton/lionsontheleoncaptaind5kfunrunwalk for the Captain “D” Dash 5K
