Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm talking to Chris True and you'll know Chris as
a part of River Action promoting float Zilla, and of
course float Zilla coming up very soon. So Chris welcome,
and I know we want to talk all things float Zilla.
Can you just quickly though, kind of if people aren't
familiar with River Action, just sort of a really quick
(00:21):
overview of what river Action does here in the Quad Cities. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Absolutely, So we've been doing float Zilla for about fifteen
years now, but this is the fifteenth year and this
is the Guinness World Record attempts for the largest group
in one spy of kayaks and canoes, and so we
do that at Lake Potter and Rock Island. Everyone gets together,
everyone has to be connected by holding onto each other's watercrafts,
(00:49):
and then the final count is taken. Someone takes a
photo from a crane up above, and that's how we
are trying to get the Guinness World Record and to
achieve that. The whole Mississippi in the Quad City area
is shut down, and so there's the Coastguard and corp
of Engineers. They're out there protecting all the paddlers, keeping
(01:12):
the motorized boats away. So it's as safe as it's
ever going to be to kayaker canoe on the Mississippi.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
I love that now, and really, where did this float? A? Zilla?
I love it. I wish whoever came up with the
name got like an extra bonus because it's it's very clever.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Well, you know, I'm sure Kathy Wyne came up with it.
I haven't asked her the story yet, but I'm sure
she came up with it. And kind of a tie
of a big event and you know, Godzilla and it's
a big event. Yeah, I think that's what I don't know.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
Yeah, well, and you truly do hold this to kayaks
and canoes. But could people invent their own floating device
to float on the river.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Yeah, we've seen some crazy stuff out there. I'm not
saying that we encourage that, but we will let people
do as they wish. And so it's it's supposed to
be though, kayaks and canoes, Okay, for the sake of
the world.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
Record, gotcha, So bring a kayaker canoe for the record,
and if you want to get something silly to do later,
do that.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Yeah. So there are people that do the stand up
paddle boards, which I believe is allowed, but we caution
people you know, don't show up in a pool floaty.
I don't know if the Coastguard would would let you
do that on that day?
Speaker 1 (02:39):
Gotcha? Gotcha? So and this is specifically August seventeenth. Can
you give some times for people like when should they
be down there? And when are you doing the big
record attempt?
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Yeah, so it's it's actually the sixteenth and the seventeenth.
There are some there are some events going on the
evening of the sixteenth at Credit Island, so I want
to mention those. There is an outdoor expo you can
buy or sell or trade you know, used outdoor gear.
It's pretty low key and you know, so just bring
(03:12):
whatever you think is appropriate. There's also going to be
a kayak or canoe safety check, so the Coast Guard
Auxiliary will be there Friday evening during packet pickup, which
is four to seven pm at Credit Island, and so
you can bring your gear, bring your your life jacket,
your pedals, your whistles, everything that you plan on using
(03:33):
Saturday and have them look it over and make sure
that everything you have is proper and safe. So that'll
be going on and then you can camp at Credit Island.
You can also camp at Lindsay Park, so a packet
pickup and those events are that Friday the sixteenth, now
the seventeenth Saturday morning. There are several different launch locations,
(03:57):
So if you want to launch at Empire Park, that
would be seven am. You want to be there before
seven am, and that's the furthest distance, which would be
about eleven miles.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Oh wow.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
So there's other spots if you want to start a
little closer. But yeah, I mean about seven am is
the earliest. Before seven am is when you want to
show up, figure out your parking on loads and stuff.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
So well, I love that you have multiple locations because
it kind of saves like several hundred people being at
one spot trying to get in the river.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Yeah, and it's for all different skill levels. You know,
it's not a race, it's not a competition. This is
meant just to be for fun. It's a social thing,
it's a community thing. And really what River Actions objective
is here is to get people out on the water
and to appreciate what we have right here in our
own backyard. And we found when people are able to
do these things with leisure as a fun activity, they
(04:54):
then will grow a greater appreciation for preserving these things
at clean protecting the environment, you know, all that good stuff.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
Yeah, I love that idea. I truly believe what you use,
you take care of. Yeah, and this is truly for
This is an all age family kind of event, right.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Correct, this is a family event. All ages are welcome.
Just you know, make sure that you're you're not going
beyond your capabilities uns Right. We have the eleven mile option.
You can start in Molene and that's six and a
half miles. You could start at Credit Island and only
go a half a mile, right, all different levels for
(05:39):
all different types of people.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Well, I love that too, because there's there's somebody like
me who's not done a whole lot of that, and
if I have, it's been like riding along with somebody
else's doing all the work. So yeah, just to have
that option of hey I'm a beginner, I'm just getting started.
I want to participate, see what this is all about.
You have that small distance where you can be like, okay,
(06:02):
I can do this. Or if you're an experienced you know, kayaker,
you know, then you have the ability to really get
in there and have a whole you know, like a
full day of having a good time. And when I
say having a good time, this isn't just about the float.
(06:23):
There are going to be other things, Like you already
alluded to the fact that there's going to which I
love the safety event and the packet pickup and the
the expo. Expo that's where I wanted to go. Yeah,
that's the Expo. I love all of that because uh,
number one, people do need to be safe, but that's
a really nice launching to what's going to be happening.
(06:45):
Also then on Saturday when people are getting in the water,
and there again are other things connected to not it's
not just a float and a photo.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Correct, it's it's a Yeah, it's a whole community thing's
two day thing if you want it to be, and
really Saturday, you know most people probably be done by
three o'clock or so on Saturday.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
Yeah, yeah, but there's also kind of a festival atmosphere
to it that day. So I mean, I know that
my band's going to be down there to play, We're
going to share some music, and then I think there's
going to be some arts and crafts and things. So really,
once you're done floating, like especially if you're somebody who
goes in early and does just a half mile. There'll
(07:28):
be other things for you to do to kind of
occupy your time so that you can be there with
family and friends and just spend the day.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Absolutely, they'll be music, pretty awesome music from what I hear,
what bangs. There'll be food vendors and there'll be some
other vendors, and like I said, it's not a race,
it's not a competition. So mostly everyone that's there is
there just to have a good time. Everyone's going to
have smiles on their faces and it'd be a good
opportunity to, you know, hang out with your friends, make
(07:56):
some new friends, and it's just a day to spend
outside together as a community.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
I love that, Chris. Now, if people are just kind
of checking things out one more time as things kick
off on Friday, the sixteenth of August, when is packet
pickup and when is the expo again?
Speaker 2 (08:13):
So packet pickup will be Friday the sixteenth at Credit
Island from four to seven pm. And you know, we
encourage that so there's less chaos Saturday morning. So please
just come Friday four to seven. And I don't want
to forget this. We really want to get people registered
as early as possible. So we are offering a promotion
(08:36):
right now. Anyone that is, anyone that's already registered, and
anyone that hurries up and registers before Monday at midnight.
You got the weekend, got the weekend and Monday. Yeah,
they're going to be eligible to win a brand new kayak.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
A brand new kayak, are you kidding me? That's great?
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Yep, So that's our carried on a stick. Don't wait
until last minute. Get registered by Monday at midnight to
be entered into ran a brand new kayak.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
I love that, Chris, that's that's a great incentive. So yeah,
so there's that. There's that, so get on it, get
on it right now. And then the packet, pick up,
the expo, the safety check. That's all on Friday the sixteenth,
and then of course float Zilla kicking off again, a
leisurely all day event. What time are you thinking? The
(09:30):
big you know, a record attempt will be that you'll
do the photo.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
I believe a photo is scheduled for one thirty okay,
and there so oh, this reminds me. A new feature
is the Rock Island Beach. So for people not familiar,
there is a nice Sandy Beach area on the Rock
Island side, just west of the Centennial Bridge. Okay, and
(09:58):
so traditionally people do stop there kind of to take
a break, meet up with friends. We are officially embracing
that stop this year and the City of Rock Island
is sponsoring that island, so thank you City of Rock Island.
We're gonna have porta potty there and hopefully some music,
hopefully some water bottles just in case you know, it's hot.
(10:21):
So that is an official stop, is the Rock Island
Beach and so stop there, hangout for a little bit,
and then we're hoping to have enough volunteers here to
tell everyone, Okay, guys, it's time to go. Don't be
late for the photo.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
That's right, because you can't beat the record if you're
not there for the record.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Yes, yes, so we want you to stop there, hang out,
have a good time, but we also want you to
get there for the big photo. And so there'll be
people saying, okay, guys, get on going right on.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
I'm really looking forward to this, Chris Chris True. With
River Action and float Zilla coming up on August sixteenth
and seventeenth, don't forget to get registered early. By midnight
on Monday, so that you can qualify for that free
free kayak. I love it. Yeah, good incentive.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Yeah, and you know you can register later than that,
but we would prefer Yeah, everyone registers sooner so we
can get t shirts ready and all that stuff. So
you can register later in the week if you need to,
but please just register Monday. That'd be cool.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Yeah, would be great. Well, Yeah, thank you so much
for letting people know about all the different things that
are related, because sometimes when you think, oh, Floatzilla, that's
all it is, but there's a lot more connected to it.
And this is becoming quite the event in the Quad Cities.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Chris, absolutely, and you know it all ties together. When
Flosilla is successful, it also helps other events become successful.
It helps people get out of the house, it helps
people get active, it helps people make friends, and it
helps River Action do other cool stuff throughout the year.
So come on out, support river Action, support the community,
(12:07):
and we can keep on doing cool stuff for the
community as we always have.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
I love it. And Chris, if people want to find
out more, they can probably just google River Action. But
is there a website that you'd love to send them
to right now?
Speaker 2 (12:21):
Yeah, so www dot float Zilla QC dot org. That's
s l O A t z I l l A
QC dot org.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Love it, Thank you, Chris. Can't wait to see you
August sixteenth and seventeenth. Yeah, likewise, and Chris, you were
talking about river action and being able to do other
things around the Quad City, so I know you guys
have another really big event that's connected with the water.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
Yes, we do so. Right now it's all hands on
deck for float Villa, But immediately after float Villa will
be working on Taming of the Slough Adventure race. That
is September twenty and it's all downtown molling at Bass
Street Landing the bas Street YMCA. There's a there's a
kayaker canoe portion, there's a bike portion, and there's a
(13:11):
run portion. You can do it solo and do it
all as like a triathlon, or you can have a
team of either three people or two people and split
it up. So we really want to start getting the
word out. Also for Taming of the Slough, it's going
to be a downtown molling as it always is on
September twenty eighth.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
And now if people want to register for that is
thing are things open for them to get registered at
the website.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
It is yes, so we have to get me registered.
It is live. So just get onto our River Action
website and then look for Taming of the Slough and
get registered. Same thing. Get registered early, get your friends
and so we'll be promoting that heavily once we get
you know, Thozilla over with.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
Oh absolutely, But yeah, it's good to put in somebody's
brain right now, because if they're going to the website
and getting registered, for one, might as well do it
while you're thinking about it right for the other might.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
As well, and really just get it in your calendar.
You know, there's so much stuff going on at the
time of year. Just get it in your calendar. Block
out that whole Saturday morning and you know, just get
it in the calendar so you don't make other plans
and so you don't forget about it.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
Okay, once again, the date for Taming.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
Of the Slough September twenty eighth.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Got it, Chris Chris True from River Action promoting not
only Floatzilla but Taming of the Slough, two big events
connected to the water here in the Quad Cities. Thanks
for filling us in and keeping us up to date
on what's going on with River Action.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Appreciate you, Thank you, Denny