[meteorite-list] Festival Celebrates Willamette Locks

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu May 12 14:25:17 2005
Message-ID: <200505121824.j4CIOh708406_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.oregonlive.com/metrosouthwest/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/metro_southwest_news/1115460022133300.xml&coll=7

Festival celebrates Willamette Locks

Sponsors hope the second annual event will generate fans and supporters
of the 132-year-old locks

SKIPP THOMSEN
The Oregonian
May 12, 2005

The second annual Lock Fest, a daylong celebration of the Willamette
River, the Willamette Falls and the Willamette Falls Locks, will be held
at the locks Saturday.

Last year's Lock Fest debut was a successful attempt to generate
awareness of the 132-year-old locks and set a precedent for the festival
as an annual event, said Sandy Carter, chairwoman for the nonprofit
Willamette Falls Heritage Foundation. The festival also won an
Outstanding Event of 2004 award from the Willamette Valley Development
Officers, an organization for development professionals.

"To have 1,300 people show up on a rainy day (last year), it's
legitimate to say it's back by popular demand this year," Carter said.

Before the locks' opening on Jan. 1, 1873, the only way around the
40-foot falls was to portage around them or to rely on manpower and
ropes to hoist boats over the falls. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
took over management of the locks in 1915. In 1974, the locks were
entered in the National Register of Historic Places. Today, mainly
fishing and recreational vessels use the locks.

Willamette Falls Locks Park will hold events and activities throughout
the day, including a 7 a.m. pancake breakfast, papermaking with the West
Linn Paper Mill, music, award ceremonies, educational booths, tours and
exhibits.

New additions to this year's festival include souvenir photo
opportunities, model tugboat kits for sale and a giant aquarium from the
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife displaying the river's wildlife.
All events are family-oriented and aim to generate children's interest
in the locks.

"When children know about something, you have a support group for
another 50 years," Carter said. "We want people to come out and see the
locks -- once they see it, they'll love it, and if they love it they
will support it."

In addition to the events in the park, a variety of activities will take
place on the water. A flotilla of water craft, from canoes to cabin
cruisers, will pass through the locks and around the falls between 8
a.m. and 6 p.m. Anyone is welcome to bring a boat to participate in the
flotilla. Canoers and kayakers are encouraged to lock downstream from
the mouth of the Tualatin River before 9:30 a.m. or after 1 p.m. to
avoid scheduled parades.

Other activities include a 10 a.m. re-enactment of the 1905 Willamette
Meteorite passage through the locks; jet boat tours of the falls every
half-hour from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; displays by the Antique and Classic
Boat Society; and the arrival of a WWII motor torpedo boat, PT 658,
around noon.

Carter and other organizers are hoping that momentum from last year's
festival will produce a turnout of 4,000 to 5,000 this year.

Due to limited parking at Willamette Falls Locks Park, festivalgoers are
encouraged to take TriMet or ride the free trolleys between the Pioneer
Family Festival in Oregon City and the park.
Received on Thu 12 May 2005 02:24:43 PM PDT