You can join Wichita’s first 150th birthday party, on the Ark River, New Year’s Day
Updated 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 31: Because the forecast for Wednesday calls for strong south winds, The Arkansas River Coalition has changed the location of its launch site. The kayaks will launch from the boat ramp on the east bank of the river, just south of the Lewis Street Bridge. The boat ramp is just south of the Wichita Boathouse, 515 S. Wichita St. Participants will paddle north towards Cowtown. Participants are asked to be at the launch site before 1:30 p.m.
If you want to take part in the first celebration of Wichita’s sesquicentennial, dress warm and bring a spare set of clothes.
. . . and a kayak, if you have one.
The Arkansas River Coalition is planning a New Year’s Day float trip on the river, the first of what will be a yearlong string of celebrations saluting Wichita’s incorporation in 1870.
“The idea is to get people involved and realize it’s the 150th anniversary of the city,” said coalition Vice President Hoyt Hillman. “This is an important year. Hopefully it will be a pleasant day to paddle. It’s just a fun thing to do and it gets people involved with the river.”
Costumes and colorful clothing are strongly encouraged, as is decorating your kayak or canoe with pennants and flags, Hillman said. Only kayaks and canoes are allowed, no motorized boats or inner tubes, he said.
The first 100 floaters will get a free Wichita flag to add to their display and show support for the city, he said.
While frivolity is encouraged, alcohol is not.
“We do not recommend it on the river,” Hillman said. “We’re not going to create a public problem.”
New Year’s Day conditions on the river can be highly variable.
“It’s not going to be a long route, but it’s a cold day usually,” said Vince Marshall, who will be in charge of the coalition’s fleet of loaner kayaks.
Some New Year’s days have been almost warm, but “We’ve had times when we’d get out of the river and there’d be ice dripping off the ends of our paddles,” Marshall said.
The two-mile float will take about 45 minutes, launching from the boat ramp at the southeast corner of the parking lot of the Old Cowtown Museum and ending just above the Lincoln Street Dam, where volunteers will be on hand to help people get their boats off the river and back to their vehicles, Hillman said.
If the Cowtown launch is too icy, the alternate will be to launch from below the dam and head south, a stretch of the river that seldom freezes.
Personal flotation jackets are required, as is signing a liability waiver. While the river’s only about 18 inches deep at the launch site, some areas along the route, especially around Exploration Place, run as deep as 15 feet, Hillman said.
Organizers suggest carrying a second set of clothing, sealed in a waterproof bag, in case of a mishap.
That way, if a kayak capsizes, rescuers can get the victim to the bank where they can change their clothes quickly, Hillman said.
“Let’s just say it’s happened in the past,” he said. “We do not want anybody to become overly frozen.”
Novices are welcome. “We’ve successfully taken about 15,000 people down the river with no significant injuries,” Hillman said.
The float trip is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Jan. 1. Those who want to participate but don’t have a kayak can borrow one and the related necessary equipment by contacting Marshall by e-mail at marshallfam@prodigy.net.
Organizers ask that participants download and sign the liability release before coming out to the river. The forms and more information on the float trip are available at www.arkrivercoalition.org.
An earlier version of this story had a wrong e-mail address for Vince Mashall.
This story was originally published December 23, 2019 at 5:01 AM.
