Monday, July 21, 2008
County residents enjoy activities on water and land at Paddlesport Regatta
by Karen L. Campbell | Special to the Gazette
Brenda Ahearn⁄The Gazette Natasha Cross, 14, of Hyattsville competes in the state race at the 14th Annual Port Towns Paddlesport Regatta on Saturday at the Bladensburg Waterfront Park.
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As 5-year old Jerrell Grey stood to the side of a dunking booth with a blue tennis ball in his right hand, a man yelled, ‘‘One... Two... Three!”
The ball flew out of his hand, but missed the bull's-eye that would have dropped the woman sitting inside into a barrel of water.
‘‘Aww man,” Grey said before he walked up and pushed the bull's-eye with his hand to make the woman fall in anyway.
The dunking booth was part of a host of activities held Saturday at the 14th Annual Anacostia Port Towns Paddlesport Regatta at Bladensburg Waterfront Park.
The event, hosted by the Anacostia Watershed Society, offers the community the chance to experience recreational activities along the Anacostia River, including canoe, kayak and Chinese Dragon boat competition races.
‘‘In years past, we had just the races but that led to people just waiting around for awards with nothing else to do. We decided to put some things on shore,” said Steven Reynolds, AWS communications manager. He said between 200 and 300 people attended the event.
For the first time this year, the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission showcased its ‘‘Birds of Prey,” showing live owls under the Rope Walk Pavilion.
‘‘Their eyes are scary,” said 8-year old Khouri Lassiter of Hyattsville.
‘‘Seeing them up close makes you have sympathy for them. They look so vulnerable,” said Gleeanza Industrious, 15, of New Carrollton.
Industrious has been coming to the event since she was 8, participating in the boat races. This year, she said, her focus is more on keeping the river and environment clean.
‘‘I think it's good, what the Watershed Society, is doing because it's giving people helpful information. Many people don't know that when you throw trash in the river that it's bad and can be harmful,” she said.
Grey's mother, Tiffany, and her friend, Ellen Tibbs, enjoyed seeing elected officials out in the community.
‘‘They took time out of their busy schedule. They could be anywhere else but they chose to be here. That says a lot,” said Tibbs, of Lanham.
Jerrell Grey chose to try his luck again at the dunking booth... and succeeded.
‘‘I got two points!” he said.
