Waterfront Boat Show This Weekend
By John Swartz
It looks like the first major event of summer will have clear sailing this weekend for the annual chamber of commerce Spring Boat Cottage and Outdoor Show at the waterfront parks.
The weeks leading up to it weren’t too good, and event coordinator Doug Bunker found out there are some lingering effects.
“We had a little problem this year. Everything was so wet that part of the show couldn’t set up exhibits. We had two vehicles up to their axels already. We had to do a whole new show layout, literally, last night,” Bunker said.
There will still be 70 vendors on land selling everything from rope and paddles, to old standby and fancy new gizmos people may find useful on their boats, or at their cottages and backyards in town. The show’s center piece is the boat market, with area marinas showcasing the latest in watercraft, and individual owners hoping to find buyers for their used boats.
“There’s not a lot of used boats left, believe it or not,” Bunker said. He believes changes in tariffs and taxes have limited the used boat market. There is one boat people might want to make sure they stroll the docks to see.
“We’ve got some unique stuff that’s never been seen before. We’ve got carbon fiber boat by the McLaren Racing Team. It’s ultra light, it’s got a 600 horsepower engine in it,” Bunker said. McLaren of course, is a name famous for auto racing, if that’s any indication of the attraction to this particular boat.
There is music too. Crowd favourites Dav Dickenson and Farucas are returning entertain event goers.
And the Art in the Pavilion group artist show is also taking over the boardwalk venue featuring a variety of artistic creations to enjoy seeing, or to get so attached to you have to buy them.
The show is open Friday to 8 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
(Photos by Swartz – SUNonline/Orillia) Sheldon Crawford of Orangeville’s Raptor Kayak Canada and Doug Bunker are ready for the weekend.
