Regatta Dispatches: Atoms and art

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(Brian Korthals/Daily Globe)

Talk about it

What a beautiful Regatta.

I empathize with the windsurfers, mind you. Here they show up at one of the windiest lakes in the world, and Lake Okabena is calm as a mill pond. I'm embarrassed on its behalf, really.

At the same time, the sun is out and the breeze is perfect, and Atomic Flea is playing on the main stage, so for all the people who attend the festival for the music and the visiting, it just couldn't be any better.

Most of the windsurfers know the wind here is variable, though, and a lot of them bring alternate means of amusement: bikes, running shoes, kayaks, canoes and the newfangled stand up paddleboards, which they can use to zip all over the lake when there's no wind at all. Some of them just hang out and listen to the music that serves as a major draw to the festival.

I've been wandering all over taking video clips and chatting with people, taking notes for a Monday Regatta story.

If you happen to see me hanging out in the Globe tent, or wandering with the video camera, you'll probably notice that my hands are speckled with green and blue. That's from participating in the public art project. I was the oldest person at the painting table, so I chatted with the younger folks while I carefully dribbled paint all over a bit of material which will eventually surround a giant fish's mouth in a mural.

Had I known I was going to paint, I probably would have had fewer cups of coffee. As it was my hands were pretty shaky, so I'm not exactly sure if I was doing the fish mural any great favors. It will end up at the YMCA and every time I see it, I'm sure I'll think: Why couldn't I have made that line just a little straighter?

I think too much about these things.

For a while, we were out of coffee at the Globe tent, but someone brought us some more. Of course I can't resist, but this time I went for decaf. I'm on my third application of sunscreen and seem to be acquiring either a suntan or a sunburn. It's impossible to tell this early on, but I've been lightly crisped at several Regattas without realizing it until it was too late.

If I look like a boiled lobster tomorrow, you'll know why.

The atmosphere has moved into the mellow stage. Tons of people are just hanging out at the beach, eating and chatting with neighbors, family and friends. If you haven't been able to make it today, there's still time.

12:45 p.m. Regatta Dispatch: Sunshine and a Light Breeze

The Regatta is my favorite Worthington festival.

King Turkey Day features the always-hilarious turkey race, and the world-spanning music and munchies of the International Festival is hard to beat, but the Windsurfing Regatta and Unvarnished Music Festival is on the shore of beautiful Lake Okabena, with art projects, music, windsurfing and absolutely more food than you can put on a stick.

After yesterday's dreary weather I think everyone was really looking forward to today's forecast improvements, and the weather has been absolutely perfect for festival-goers. It's sunny, but the sun is ducking behind the clouds just frequently enough to keep the temperature from soaring into the sweltering-hot range, and the breeze is also helping to keep things cool.

I'm sitting in the Daily Globe tent, catching a bit of shelter from the sun. I put on a ton of sunscreen, but I still have a feeling I'm going to get burned to a crisp if I'm not careful.

As always, the Globe tent is offering free helium-filled balloons to kids, as well as free coffee (provided by the Order of the Eastern Star, I think) and free water for adults (provided by Culligan). You can register to win a cool prize here, or purchase a Regatta t-shirt from this year or previous years.

There's also free shade. That sounds goofy, but if it does get hot out here, you're going to want some shade, and don't forget to stay hydrated either.

Fortunately it hasn't gotten that far yet.

I caught the dedication of the murals this morning. Gail Holinka, a student and a couple city officials were there, and talked a bit about public art. The murals are pretty cool; one shows a windsurfer in action and the other is a turtle, but incorporates windsurfing, fishing and a bunch of other things into it. Both are public art projects lots of people worked on, each completing a single tile, at a previous Regatta.

Beth Rickers is going to write a story about the public art projects and upcoming efforts to get more public art started in Worthington for Monday's paper, so you have that to look forward to.

For lunch, I tried a grilled loaded potato, which was delicious. Ordering a large may have been a mistake, though; those things have a lot more food in 'em than it seems. I meant to get an elephant ear for dessert, but I better wait or I'll burst at the seams.

The Roe Family Singers are rocking the house, old-timey style, and I'd better go and get some video clips. If you're not down here already, you should be!

Tags: regatta, news