The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

I soooo wish we could revive the Great Raft Race.  I think the liability insurance finally became too expensive for KRMG. 

But still....

(http://www.tulsalibrary.org/JPG/C1973.jpg)

I actually have two of these shirts, and some where a "Ski The Tulsa Mountains" bumper sticker.

(http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p309/kallsop2/MyStuff002.jpg)

Where on the river was that photo taken?  And for us youngsters, when was the last year this was held?

http://www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/itemsofinterest/centennial/centennial_storypage.asp?ID=070901_1_A4_Raftr50508 (http://www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/itemsofinterest/centennial/centennial_storypage.asp?ID=070901_1_A4_Raftr50508)

Wow that sounds really cool.  Some kind of event like this or the also-failed River Fest would be great to bring people back to the river.  Oktoberfest is on the river but has nothing to do with it, plus it's usually too cold that time of year.  Mayfest should stay downtown but maybe something along the river could be incorporated into DFest as it gets bigger each year. 

You know I remember as a kid going to some kind of festival at the river where they had all kinds of chocolate including chocolate popcorn and games.  I don't specifically remember a raft race though, was there another festival by the river in the late 80's and early 90's?

Hmmmm,,, In the back of my mind I have been mulling the idea of a "Gatsby Picnic" fundraiser event for the Deco Museum.  There are several locations that would be great for such an event, all near the river; Harwelden, Mc Birney Mansion, and on the "great lawn" of that white house by the river.  Would like there to be old timey cars, perhaps a soap box derby, lawn games, everyone dressed in white, tents, live music and dancing, everyone bringing picnic baskets and blankets, etc. 

Having it right down by the river (riparian entertainments) would be a great idea to consider, but I can't really think of a fitting and nice area where you could do that?   A place where a lot of people could set up their picnics and be next to the river.

SXSW- I suspect the photo you asked about was at City Park in Sand Springs (I think that's what they called it).  IIRC, they launched just below the old Sand Springs low water dam.  I was on a sand bar at 41st & Riverside for the first race.  I think they pulled the rafts out near 45th or 51st (I-44).  That's only been 36 years ago, no reason I'd have failed memory on that one  ;D

RPA started "River Rush" this year which was on Oct. 10.  I was unable to attend and no idea what the turn out was like, but they specifically included the rowing club, running clubs, bicycle clubs as a way to show off what kind of recreational opportunities exist on the river.

http://www.riverrush.net/

I don't recall the other festival you mentioned.  I used to go to the concerts at the amphitheater, Robert Palmer, Moody Blues (my favorite show there), Bruce Hornsby, Symphony, etc.  Bugs and stagnant lagoon water were a serious issue though.

There's some modifications in the plans for Riverwest Festival Park.  A friend of mine from INCOG related that the lagoon will most likely get filled in.

The boathouse is undergoing expansion right now, via private donations and very good cash management by the Tulsa Rowing Club officers. 

Here's a link that is a great jumping off point to other links for the Arkansas River Corridor Master Plan

http://www.incog.org/ark%20river/default.htm

I'm glad you remembered where they pulled out, Conan. I couldn't place the topography of the picture but I knew it wasn't near the existing Zink Lake. It did indeed start at River City Park below the now gone lowater dam. I never participated other than to watch them float under the 21st street bridge. I was told that it was the drinking that scared off the insurance providers. It was also lacking in ad sponsorship.

I think River Rush suffered from bad weather and the dinner was held indoors.

I did boat rides at the River Fest. It also had weather issues IIRC. I remember some girls flashed me from next to the lagoon as I left on one trip. I miss that. :D

I hope you have much better luck than Mrs Bucket.

Seems like whomever the 7-up distributor was, they had rafts crafted like bottle six packs for 7 up and Crush products.  Those stand out the most to me.

aaah you caught that  8)

So the rafts went over Zink dam?

Zink Dam wasn't completed until, 1980 or '81 I think.  As of the first raft race, I don't think they'd even converted the old railroad bridge north of 31st St. into a pedestrian bridge yet either.  I can't remember now if the ped bridge project was part of the Zink Lake project or if it was part of the rivertrails project. 

Someone else might have a better memory of this than me.  I just did a cursory Google on it and came up empty-handed

The pedestrian bridge was opend in '73 or '74 at the earliest and it originally only went half way across the river. It opened all the way across in '78 I think and connected to the trail on that side of the river. Also when the bridge was opened it had an upper observation deck.

Ok, I was off just a little, go figure. Here is some more info....

http://okbridges.wkinsler.com/tulsa_county/arkansasbridge8.html (http://okbridges.wkinsler.com/tulsa_county/arkansasbridge8.html)