The Clark Lake Spirit was alive and well in spite of 2 inches of rain that tried to dampen it. Those engineering Raft-O-Rama entries had to deal with the onslaught. Even so, cardboard, paint and duct tape weathered remarkedly well in preserving the creative work of the participants. The 62nd annual Raft-O-Rama splashed ahead and won praise from those viewing from the shore or on the lake.
Judging takes place each year from individuals who are far removed from the Clark Lake experience. No one at the lake is likely to know or have a connection with them in order to remove personal bias from decisions. All of the outcomes below are based on that premise, except for the Peoples Choice Award. Clark Lakers who have seen the entries in the parade vote as the party begins at Eagle Point. That voting takes place between noon and 3 pm. Awards follow, and here’s what happened.
This year’s theme: Houses
Peoples Choice Award
Best Overall, Adults 18 and Up: The John Petitto Memorial Cup #12
Best Overall, Kids 17 and Under: The R. Tucker Boyers Award #7
Most Enthusiastic #9
Most Original #3
Funniest #23
Closest to the Theme #1
Most Colorful #11
Best Special Effects #8
Furthest from the Theme #4
Costumes Only #22
Most Attention to Detail #5
Rookie Award #14
And…
Click here for the Spirit of Clark Lake Award.
I’ve been refreshing this page to see these! Great job, everyone, and thank you, Rick!!
Kudos to all for braving the rain. You all rocked!!
Great coverage of a favorite annual event that persevered through the nasty morning weather. Excellent job all around, thanks to the volunteers who make it all happen!
Thank you, Rick, for chronicling and preserving all these wonderful memories of our lives at the lake
We all look forward to the creativity and artistry of our Clark Lake Raft-rama participants. This year’s entries didn’t let us down. How do you do that? You had to come up with the ideas, create, and then build your creations. Then lastly keep your spirits up through the rain and wind, while many of us huddled indoors. You make us proud to live at Clark Lake. Thank you and congratulations.
You did another great job taking quality shots of the rafts even in today’s challenging weather! Thanks Rick!
Thank you for all of the support for RaftORama. Especially to the ROR staff of volunteers. It is a family tradition for us and our young grandchildren and their friends all all in for this wonderful community event.
A Big thank you to the Clarklake Lions Club for braving the monsoon with us for serving their incredible chicken dinners and the absolute best cole slaw yet. It was better than the slaw served by the Manchester Chicken Broil! You really understand how to reward our community.
Who are those good looking gents in the Most Enthusiastic photo??