Underdogs, insiders, costumes galore: Glen Ellyn cardboard race thrills fans
The first two heats alone of the 26th annual Lake Ellyn Cardboard Regatta on Saturday afternoon had all the elements of a thrilling race.
There was an underdog story.
The young members of a team called "The Three-Hour Boat" are new Glen Ellyn residents who only recently found out about the traditional race and named their cardboard creation for the time it took to assemble it Saturday - not as an allusion to the "three-hour tour" from the 1960s CBS sitcom "Gilligan's Island."
The boat sunk in more like three minutes, right after it crossed the finish buoy in the regatta's second of 18 heats.
There was a local favorite with insider information.
The Glen Ellyn Park District, which hosts the event, fielded a team in a boat decorated to celebrate the district's 100th anniversary. Team member Brandon Lorman, a Lake Ellyn steward, knows the lagoon's ins and outs.
"I mulch, weed, make sure it's clean, that kind of thing," said Lorman, whose team won the first heat in the adult division. "I take care of the lake."
There were spectators and suspense, costumes and characters and cheers, trash talk and team T-shirts and lead changes.
And there were cultural references, too, like a nod to the long-running NBC series "The Office," in the form of a Glen Ellyn Bank & Trust boat by that name, and a shout-out to the 1980s, with a colorful Care Bears boat called "Taste the Rainbow."
Care Bears beat "The Office," but both fell short to the park district, with its boat rowed by an intern, a maintenance man, another staffer and Lorman the lake expert.
There were falls and flips into the lake, likely welcome mishaps on a steamy summer day. But none for the members of "The Office" team, who rowed as characters Phyllis, Meredith, Pam and Jim. The course, a triangular shape around buoys, was more sprint than marathon, yet participants called it a workout.
"It was so tiring," said Abraham Marquez, who rowed on "The Office" team as Jim.
"We were all synced, so we did a good job," said his teammate Saharay Terrazas, who rowed as Pam.
Along the lake's western shore was a party for racers and their cheering sections, with a crowd of hundreds.
There was an official leaderboard and a public address announcer to keep all of the fans informed, from the babies in strollers to the seniors in lawn chairs and everyone in between.
There was a police presence - both from uniformed officers and from a boat called "Wet Police," with the tagline "To serve and get wet."
There were food trucks - 13 in total - selling pizza puffs, lobster rolls, tacos, burritos or pierogi from two parts of the park.
There was even a small drone floating in flight above the lake, taking it all in.
The annual regatta attracted 41 handmade cardboard boats in an event known for its quirky awards. Not only were winners awarded in youth, family and adult age groups, but awards also were given for the most creative boat, the best team spirit and the most spectacular sinking ship.