VCB at Clearwater 2015

By
Becky Olinger

From Clearwater 2015

Clearwater 2015 was a wet one! Friday June 19, I towed the gigs up to Croton Point Park. They would not be unloaded until the following day. The canopy was set up and the cars unloaded. Saturday June 20, 2015 turned out to be rainy and overcast the entire day. With the Help of the Harbor School students and other working waterfront participants the gigs were unloaded. The Harbor School students then went for a row. Upon their return the VCB volunteers also got a chance to get in a row before the start of the festival. We made it back to shore just as the skies opened with rain! Despite the on and off rain all day we took out about 30 people, most of them families. The Harbor School Students did a great job taking out the participants. The VCB volunteers did a great job making sure waivers were signed and rowers fitted with PFD’s. We also explained to the Clearwater Festival goers what our Mission is and what we do in Manhattan at our boathouse. Many People were impressed that we do this in NYC! Several VCB volunteers and Harbor School students were able to try sailing, kayaking and stand up paddle boarding during the weekend. The volunteer dance party Saturday evening was a lot of fun. The band this year was Delhi 2 Dublin and we all did a lot of dancing! The Harbor School kids had a great time.
The rain started later that evening and rained all through the night until early Sunday morning. By 11am -12pm the sun finally came out and it became hot and humid! Our display booth survived the rain and we got out about another 20 people. By about 3pm it was time to load the gigs back onto the trailer with the help of the Harbor School students and other working waterfront participants. Once the gigs were secure, the trailer was moved off to the side and the Harbor School kids departed. Our display booth stayed up and we continued to tell the festival participants about VCB. At about 4pm there was another storm that blew through with heavy rain. It passed and we had sun again. At around 6 we took the display booth down and loaded up the cars and attached the trailer to David’s truck. We then went and enjoyed the last band to play, The Mavericks.
It was a great weekend despite all the rain. Thank you to the VCB volunteers Rene, Margaret, Frank, Max, Brianna and David. Also, a big thank you to the Harbor School students and staff!
Becky

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