Heber Springs’ World Championship Cardboard Boat Races Saturday July 29th

 

Heber Springs, Ark.,  – The Heber Springs Chamber of Commerce welcomes back the World Famous Championship Cardboard Boat Races, That received the “Event of the Year Alfie Award” from the Arkansas Festivals & Events Association in 2015 & 2016.  with a day-long event on July 29, 2017, at Sandy Beach on Greers Ferry Lake. Not only are these cardboard crafts amazing feats of engineering, the 2017 race is sure to be a creative triumph, as this year’s theme invites participants to decorate their boats in the super hero theme of DC versus Marvel!

Race participants will stretch the limits of their ingenuity to design boats made entirely of corrugated cardboard. Not only do these boats, ranging from simple rafts to stunning ships, float, they must also complete four heats around a 200-yard course on Greers Ferry Lake.No other construction materials are allowed, with the exception of tape, waterproofing, and oars to propel the craft. No wood, no metal, no motors—just cardboard and imagination—a powerful combination that earned the event the coveted Event of the Year Alfie Award from the Arkansas Festivals & Events Association in 2015 & 2016. Boat races will begin at 10:00 a.m., with timed heats for both children and adults. The

Boat races will begin at 10:00 a.m., with timed heats for both children and adults. The Pride of the Fleet Prize will be awarded to the boat that best combines innovative engineering with artistic design, while the Captain’s Award goes to the team with the greatest spirit and crowd involvement. And of course, the Titanic Award is reserved for the boat with the most dramatic sinking.

There’s plenty of additional fun planned for the day, with a treasure dig, watermelon-eating contest and a volleyball tournament all on the agenda. Registration for the volleyball tournament will be on-site only. Enjoy the spectacular surroundings of Heber Springs, a jewel of a town located just 60 miles north of Little Rock, on the shores of Greers Ferry Lake and the Little Red River in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains.

The event, now over 30 years old which began in 1987, has received national attention from outlets as diverse as ESPN, the Discovery Channel, and TripAdvisor. Premier sponsors for 2017 are the Heber Springs Advertising & Promotion Commission and Red River Dodge along with contributing sponsors First Arkansas Bank and Trust, Quality Suites the official hotel of the Cardboard Boat Races, Baptist Health Medical Center Heber Springs, Timeless 106.1 KFFB, Harps Foods, XTO Energy, and NorthStar EMS. Register your team and learn more about building a cardboard boat at www.heber- springs.com or follow the Heber Springs Area Chamber of Commerce on Facebook.

Heber Springs, located 65 miles north of Little Rock, Arkansas, is home to Greers Ferry Lake, the Little Red River and Aromatique Inc., the global leader in home fragrance products. Greers Ferry Lake is consistently named among the top ten cleanest lakes in North America and the Little Red River is the home waters of the third largest brown trout ever caught in the U.S. Heber Springs is known for its limitless outdoor activities including swimming, scuba diving, fishing, hiking, biking and viewing of the rare trumpeter swans that winter there.