Cake & Ice Cream, Concert on the water, Boat Parade, Wakeboard & Ski Demonstration and Much More.
This is what former South Grand Chamber Director Barbra Conner called her “MILLION DOLLAR VIEW
Even though the last gate in the Pensacola Dam was closed in March of 1940, which for all practical purposes signaled the end of the dam’s construction, August has been recognized as the anniversary month throughout the years….Mostly because then sitting Governor Leon (Red) Phillips refused to open the roadway across the structure for months because of a dispute over the replacement of bridges and roads inundated by the filling of Grand Lake. Thus the 50th anniversary of the dam was celebrated in August of 1995 with a parade and other activities, but will pale in comparison to what is planned for the old Lady’s 75th birthday party.
Technically, the dam is owned and operated by a state agency, the Grand River Dam Authority. And even though the authority generates its own revenue stream and isn’t supported by any Oklahoma taxpayer dollars, many in Northeastern Oklahoma, who depend on the ‘ol girl for their livelihood, feel a bond akin to ownership. Some of these same people were responsible for approaching GRDA CEO Dan Sullivan about truly making the 75th birthday bash spectacular.
Several meetings were conducted, ideas bannered around with the objective being to develop an annual fourth holiday of the season for Grand Lake with an annual celebration in future years around the anniversary date. The two day event has been scheduled for August 7th and 8th and the group’s plans have now been solidified.
Kicking things off on Friday night will be an old fashioned birthday party, complete with ice cream and cake, sponsored by the Grand River Dam Authority. Some of the historical memorabilia related to the dam’s construction will be on display. The event will be hosted at the GRDA Eco-Systems Building, located at the west end of the Pensacola Dam and will run from 7:00 till 8:30pm. Later that evening, courtesy of the Oklahoma Parks Department, a movie will be shown below the dam near the golf course complete with complimentary popcorn and soft drinks.
The event on Friday night is also intended as an opportunity to honor some of the significant names related to the project like W.R. Howay, Henry Holderman, whose vision was to build Hydro-Dam to generate power for the Cherokee Nation, the Rainbow-Chasers, who made multiple trips to Washington in a quest for funding, FDR and many, many more. VIP invitations have been sent to family members and others with historic ties to the project.
Saturday morning things really get rolling with what has been dubbed Woodstock on the Water. There will be a parade in front of the Pensacola Dam getting underway at 11:00am. Following the parade, boaters will be encouraged to anchor out near the Disney side of the dam and take in an afternoon concert on the water getting underway at high noon till 5:00pm. Bands booked to perform throughout the afternoon are the Travis Kid Band, Kirkland Field, Bootlegger’s Union, Reverse Reaction, Jim Sweeny and Chris Campbell. And at 2:00pm a wakeboard and skiing demonstration is scheduled to take place in front of the dam.
A stage will be brought in to the Disney Park, vendors will be on hand to provide food and drink, it’s anticipated courtesy transportation will be provided from designated off-site parking areas to the park, a vintage car show and much, much more. There is also a rock crawler event scheduled for that weekend. This is bound to become a tradition as the largest birthday bash hosted on Grand Lake.
This mother of all raft-outs will set the standard for future raft-outs on Grand Lake. The events Gold Sponsors, which are Arrowhead & Cherokee Yacht Clubs, Cobalt Boats, the Grand River Dam Authority and REC, are joined by Silver Sponsors Hydro-Hoist Lifts and Reasor’s Discount Foods in making the event possible.
For more information, contact the South Grand Lake Area Chamber of Commerce at 918-782-3214 or via e-mail at grandlakechamber@gmail.com.
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