The 2004 boat show of the Okanagan Antique & Classic Boat Society was another great success. We had fewer boats in the water, but many more displayed out of the water. This gave us an excellent opportunity to really examine these boats and their workmanship. It was considered well worthwhile to be able to so thoroughly inspect every portion of these boats Everyone who attended the show was delighted with the location, the scenery and the efforts the club members put into welcoming them.

This year we experimented with an Arts and Crafts Sale being held in conjunction with the show. Our sponsoring Radio Station helped with this and we had quite a number of Crafters and Artists displaying their wares. It added a real sense of festivity to the show. Also, this year we put on a big-band concert for the general public on Saturday evening in the park by the lagoons, which turned out to be a tremendous success.
We also had a Silent Auction again and are holding all the proceeds for a hoped-for Okanagan Maritime Museum, sometime in the (hopefully) not too distant future.

The only really untoward happening over the weekend was the heat-wave, making sun-screen, hats and water the most desirable commodities. Temperatures were in the 40s (Celsius – over 100 degrees F) and this kept the number of spectators down as they crowded into the air-conditioned malls during the day, but they came down to the water-front to view the boats at dusk, around 9 pm when the fierce heat had become bearable. 
Because we are in lagoons rather than on the lake, we were unable to have a sail-pass, so this year we had a “putter-pass” when individual boats would putter around the lagoons while the MC detailed the boat’s history. This was decidedly successful and folks had the opportunity to observe boats in motion, although we were not able to show their capability for speed. Also, this year people were more “in tune” with the lock and took their boats out for a spin from time to time.

All things considered, we felt the show weekend was a tremendous success, and although the heat wore us down, the pleasure of showing our boats and being with fellow enthusiasts lifted us up.
 

We are really looking forward to next year’s show.