The first ever lighted kayak parade will debut at Horseshoe Lake Park in Woodland on Friday, July 22
Organizer Leslie O’Keefe-Lawley was inspired to start the event after seeing a similar one at Lake Sacajawea.
“We are coordinating with the City of Woodland for their event, which is called ‘Hot Summer Nights’ and ‘Movies in the Park,’ so there’ll be a couple of different activities for people to choose from like the lighted kayak parade, watching the movie in the park, and a live band that starts at 6 (p.m.),” O’Keefe-Lawley said. “We are basically working together with the City of Woodland to just have a fun family event and free to everyone.”
She said part of the reason she decided to organize the lighted kayak parade is because she aims to have more community events in Woodland.
“We’re growing really fast, so we need to have more fun family events that can bring people into the community,” O’Keefe-Lawley said.
Lake Sacajawea holds its lighted kayak parade in December, but O’Keefe-Lawley wanted to host Woodland’s version of the event during a warmer time of the year.
“Unfortunately, I’m a fair-weather kayaker, so it’s usually rainy and cold in December. I had the idea to do Christmas in July because we’re probably apt to have a better turnout when the weather is nicer,” she said. “I enjoy kayaking and I thought it would be fun to just put a little spin on it, put lights on your kayak, and come out and have fun.”
At first, O’Keefe-Lawley was unsure of how the city would react to her idea since she never held an event of this kind before, but when she called them, she said they were very helpful. She then applied for an event permit and had to get approval from the city council.
“We were lucky this year to do it on short notice, and we were able to just kind of add the kayak parade to Hot Summer Nights and Movies in the Park,” O’Keefe-Lawley said. “The city was very excited about adding this event, and so they have invited us to make it a tradition in Woodland.”
O’Keefe-Lawley will bring her own kayak to the event. She plans to decorate it with LED light strips. She was able to find battery-powered ones on Amazon, which she will put along the outside of the kayak to make it look like a sailboat.
O’Keefe-Lawley also plans to give out ribbons for the categories best in show, brightest lights and the most creative entry.
After spreading the word about the event on Facebook, she was surprised to see how much interest people expressed. As of last week, she said 250 people were interested in either attending or participating in the event. She also said at least 30 people committed to bringing their kayak, paddleboard, or canoe.
There are no limits on the amount of watercraft that can be featured as long as everyone leaves by 10:30 p.m. per the city’s orders, she said.
The Movies in the Park event on that same day will feature Space Jam.
The lighted kayak parade will run from 9 to 10:30 p.m. on July 22.
More information can be found online at facebook.com/events/747193466329974/?ref=newsfeed.
