Children with special needs and their families will be treated to a day of pirate adventure this Saturday in Kelowna at Boat for Hope, a fundraiser in support of Variety – The Children’s Charity
For more than a decade, members of the Kelowna Yacht Club have helped organize the event, volunteering their time and their sailing and power vessels to make the adventure on the ‘high seas’ a wonderful day for those with special needs. These local skippers ferry the children from the Downtown Marina to stationary treasure stations on Okanagan Lake while marauding pirates, bent on stealing the treasure (or booty as the pirates prefer to call it), give full chase enroute to Treasure Island at Kerry Park.
The public is welcome to join in the fun at the land event, as well as enjoy the epic pirate water battle which traditionally wraps up the aquatic adventure at 2 p.m. The best public viewing area for the big water battle is along the waterfront between Kerry Park and City Park.
This will be the 12th year that the Kelowna Yacht Club has participated in this event and is expecting over 300 children, family members and caregivers. They will be assisted by over 100 volunteers, dressed in their finest pirate’s attire, from the Kelowna Yacht Club who are dedicating not only their time but their boats and fuel.
Volunteers from the Kelowna Fire Department and Commissionaire will assist the children with their life jackets as well as embarking and disembarking, and the RCMP will be using their Boat Patrol Vessel, equipped with a high-pressure water sprayer, to join in the fun.
“The Kelowna Yacht Club is honored to be working with Variety for our 12th annual Boat for Hope event. It is truly remarkable to see the joy on the children’s faces as they experience the pirate boats, costumes, mock action, loot bags and more,” said Commodore, Don McEachern. “This is all possible because of the generous support from the community, the Kelowna Fire Department, the RCMP, and Downtown Marina (Westcorp) along with the dedication of our Kelowna Yacht Club Members who volunteer their time and boats each year to make this such a memorable day for the children. Thanks to all.”
The complete journey takes approximately 45 to 60 minutes with the first boats departing the Downtown Marina at 10 a.m. and the last run scheduled for 12:45 p.m.
To report a typo, email: edit@kelownacapnews.com.
<>@KelownaCapNews
newstips@kelownacapnews.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.