Contestants compete in their Yellow Submarine last year on the Bass Pro Shops Lake in northeast Columbia. Photo by Kyle Spradley.
Registration has opened for people wanting to compete in the fourth annual Float Your Boat for the Food Bank cardboard boat regatta. The race will take place April 25 at the Bass Pro Shops Lake in northeast Columbia.
The event is a fundraiser for The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri. More than $41,000 in sponsorships and donations was collected in the previous three races. The race is a cooperative effort of the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and the Food Bank.
Student groups, community organizations, businesses, individuals and families construct vessels. Boats are made out of cardboard, duct tape, glue and the imagination of their builders. Last year’s boats included a cardboard school bus, the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine, an Easter basket, a hot dog and a corn cob.
The boat crew paddles along a course at Bass Pro Shops Lake, 3101 Bass Pro Drive. In previous events, about half of the boats sank during the two-minute voyage across the lake. Boats must have at least two people to paddle, but some have had as many as eight. There is a shorter course for kids.
Registration information is available at floatforthefoodbank.org.
— Randy Mertens