Cardboard Regatta returning to Glen Ellyn with a splash

Glen Ellyn residents can watch their neighbors sail or sink - mostly sink - when the park district's annual Cardboard Regatta returns Saturday to Lake Ellyn.

Participants in the annual event will build boats out of corrugated cardboard and then climb aboard the crafts and try to sail along a course on the lake.

The boatbuilders with the fastest times are the winners, but the weekend sailors will have to make sure they don't sink first.

There are adult and youth divisions, and divisions separated by years of boatbuilding experience. The maximum number of people that can be in each boat is eight - which is the same number that can wind up in the water.

Races start at noon at the park, 645 Lenox Road, and winners get trophies.

Many of the boats take on rather eclectic looks.

"A lot of the charm to it is that people will personalize it to be a specific theme, whether it's a school theme, a movie theme, something that's popular at the time," Assistant Superintendent of Recreation Mary Defiglia said. "We've seen 30-foot-high Energizer bunnies, we've seen replicas of the Wright Brothers' plane."

This year's event also will include separate live minnow races near the band shell, where attendees can pay a dollar to select a minnow and watch it race. The winner gets a coupon to the park district's Holes & Knolls Miniature Golf Course, Defiglia said.

A barbecue starting at 11 a.m. will be sponsored by the Glen Ellyn 4th of July Committee. Proceeds from food purchases will go toward funding the 4th of July parade and fireworks.