MONTAGUE — While overall participation in the third annual Float-a-Palooza, which took place Saturday, was down from a year ago, John Hanson of the White Lake Snow Farmers was pleased with the community reaction to what's becoming an area tradition.
"We think it all went really well," Hanson said. "Everyone we talked to had a good time."
Hanson said just under 400 kayakers were part of the connected flotilla in the middle of White Lake, which is 60 or so down from a year ago.
The Snow Farmers believe part of the reason for the downturn was the new Saturday date, which put the Float-a-Palooza opposite the Burning Foot beer festival in Muskegon. Previous Float-a-Paloozas took place the Sunday prior to the Labor Day weekend.
Another reason, echoing something Hanson said a year ago, was that the Snow Farmers believe they need to get the word out about the event earlier than they are. Because volunteers helping the Snow Farmers with the event are also part of the Walk the Beat White Lake festival, which takes place only a month prior, the event tends to just run out of manpower.
"Getting it publicized, getting the word out, is a big problem for us," Hanson said. "We have a very limited budget, so we don't have advertising ability. Social media and that type of thing is what we're relying on, and not everyone is on Facebook. It's, 'How do you reach those people?'"
Like previous years, the Float-a-Palooza featured hundreds of folks bringing kayaks, either their own or rented ones, onto White Lake and parking next to a boat in the middle of the lake. On board the boat, local musician Tommy Foster played popular tunes and created a positive atmosphere. Bright, sunny, warm weather also added to the good vibes.
This year, the lake moved into the middle of the lake after previously having been parked close to shore. Hanson said this was done to avoid shallow water and weeds that would make it difficult to kayak.
Despite the issue of Burning Foot, Hanson said the Snow Farmers intend to keep Float-a-Palooza on a Saturday next year, reasoning that the Sunday is the last day before school begins for several local districts and they would lose participation from people because of the time constraints that causes.
The Snow Farmers will donate 10 percent of the proceeds from the Float-a-Palooza to the White Lake Association, continuing with a tradition they began with the start of the event to donate to local nonprofits.
Hanson hopes added volunteers in future years will create more participation in the Float-a-Palooza, and interest has already come in from some local residents.
"We need to increase our helpers and diffuse the workload," Hanson said. "We've had several people step up saying, 'We'd be glad to help next year,' and things like that. We'll see what happens."
