FIBArk: First in Boating on the Arkansas
FIBArk is a 4 day celebration of water adventures and races. The event began in 1949 (that's 66 years of water fun) and has been going strong ever since. There are foot races, like the 10k trail run I did a few years back-never again, and every kind of water event you can think of..at least every one I could think of.
Of course the main attraction is the river and all the events held there. However, this year there was a full on carnival in the park and on the streets. Sketchy rides that took an hour to put up and fried food that takes a lifetime to burn off were in mass quantities. There was even a stage hosting a karaoke contest and 'Salida's Got Talent'. "Unfortunately" we missed the talent portion, but I now fully understand why karaoke is meant to be held in a dark bar, late at night, after having many drinks...
We ate lunch at a restaurant overlooking the river and watched the freestyle kayakers and stand-up paddle boarders compete. Stand-up paddle boarding on a river of rapids is crazy! They race to be the fastest to the finish line, but there are rapids in the way! Needless to say there were a lot of wipe outs, but more impressively a few people who managed to stay up the entire ride down. Awesome.
By the end of lunch I had my fill of outdoor enthusiasts and river watching, so I headed for the local coffee shop where I enjoyed one of the smoothest dirty chai lattes I have ever had-thanks Brown Dog Coffee! After an hour of reading I headed back to the river's edge to watch the much anticipated Hooligan race.
The Hooligan race is for water lovers without a special talent. They race down the river on anything that is NOT a boat. These contraptions are made out of everything from cardboard (yeah because that floats) to plastic oil drums. Everyone wears costumes and the crowd loves it! The winner is apparently the 2nd place team and debauchery is highly encouraged. This year they tied envelopes filled with money (or so they say) across the river. People in the "boats" were encouraged to jump out in an attempt to grab some dollas on the way down the river. The first team sent one man into the air and he took down the entire line of envelopes. He wiped out so hard that the envelopes floated away in front of him..oops!
FIBArk is entertainment like nothing else. From climbing up the face of a mountain to slalom races and karaoke...this festival is meant to entertain. I learned my lesson about participating the last time I came here and was happy to be a spectator this time around :)
FIBArk is a 4 day celebration of water adventures and races. The event began in 1949 (that's 66 years of water fun) and has been going strong ever since. There are foot races, like the 10k trail run I did a few years back-never again, and every kind of water event you can think of..at least every one I could think of.
Of course the main attraction is the river and all the events held there. However, this year there was a full on carnival in the park and on the streets. Sketchy rides that took an hour to put up and fried food that takes a lifetime to burn off were in mass quantities. There was even a stage hosting a karaoke contest and 'Salida's Got Talent'. "Unfortunately" we missed the talent portion, but I now fully understand why karaoke is meant to be held in a dark bar, late at night, after having many drinks...We ate lunch at a restaurant overlooking the river and watched the freestyle kayakers and stand-up paddle boarders compete. Stand-up paddle boarding on a river of rapids is crazy! They race to be the fastest to the finish line, but there are rapids in the way! Needless to say there were a lot of wipe outs, but more impressively a few people who managed to stay up the entire ride down. Awesome.By the end of lunch I had my fill of outdoor enthusiasts and river watching, so I headed for the local coffee shop where I enjoyed one of the smoothest dirty chai lattes I have ever had-thanks Brown Dog Coffee! After an hour of reading I headed back to the river's edge to watch the much anticipated Hooligan race.The Hooligan race is for water lovers without a special talent. They race down the river on anything that is NOT a boat. These contraptions are made out of everything from cardboard (yeah because that floats) to plastic oil drums. Everyone wears costumes and the crowd loves it! The winner is apparently the 2nd place team and debauchery is highly encouraged. This year they tied envelopes filled with money (or so they say) across the river. People in the "boats" were encouraged to jump out in an attempt to grab some dollas on the way down the river. The first team sent one man into the air and he took down the entire line of envelopes. He wiped out so hard that the envelopes floated away in front of him..oops!
FIBArk is entertainment like nothing else. From climbing up the face of a mountain to slalom races and karaoke...this festival is meant to entertain. I learned my lesson about participating the last time I came here and was happy to be a spectator this time around :)
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