 Photo
credit: Lake Havasu Lighthouse Club
SAFETY LIGHTS -- Miniature lighthouse replicas keep popping up on
Lake
Havasu, all in the name of boater safety. To promote the cause, the first
annual Lake Havasu City Lighthouse Festival is set for March 11 at Windsor
State Beach. Shown is the Manning Memorial replica.
Story By Karen Scanlon
Miniature lighthouse replicas keep popping up in visible places on Lake
Havasu — all in the name of boater safety. To promote the cause,
preparations are well underway for the first Annual Lake Havasu City
Lighthouse Festival on March 11 at Windsor State Beach, Lake Havasu —
time: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Welcome are all boaters, lighthouse enthusiasts, and people who seek
adventure. It’s a family event, and you’ll find plenty of parking, food,
and novelties vendors, and enjoy free admission to the Arizona State Park.
You don’t need a boat to partake of the fun.
Eleven miniatures, built to resemble real lighthouses elsewhere in the
country, dot several public areas. They are official aids to navigation
with a color and blinking sequence representative of their location on the
lake.
A "fly-by" with U.S. Coast Guard aircraft at 2:30 p.m. will herald the
dedication of the Boston Lighthouse at Contact Point. The new light is the
12th to be erected by the Lake Havasu Lighthouse Club.
It is sponsored by the local Coast Guard Auxiliary in tribute to the
Coast Guard and former keepers of America’s lighthouses, the United States
Lighthouse Service.
Once the aircraft scream overhead, a pass and review of public-safety
vessels will proceed from Contact Point through London Bridge Channel,
then beach for public viewing at Windsor State Beach.
"If you ever have a problem on the river or surrounding areas, these
are the people who will come to help you," says Bill Bryan, board member
and festival promoter. "This is your opportunity to thank them."
Members of the host Lake Havasu Lighthouse Club hope the festival will
also bring the lower Colorado River community, and the agencies that
manage it, together.
"We aim to provide an enjoyable medium where users of the lower-river
area will learn the goals of each management entity, from Davis Dam to
Parker Dam," Bryan says. "The missions of the various agencies will be
demonstrated through static displays and good old conversation."
Also participating are representatives from the Bureau of Land
Management, San Bernardino and Mohave sheriff’s offices, Lake Havasu City
police and fire departments, Arizona Game and Fish Department, and the
Chemehuevi Indian Tribe.
Other highlights include storytelling by Shirley Robertson, daughter of
a lighthouse keeper, and Bob Keller, founder of Lake Havasu Lighthouse
Club. Presentations by area dignitaries, such as Gordon Bartlett of
Bartlett Tours, will tell of steamboats that once navigated the Colorado
River.
Boat and seaplane tours of the lighthouses will be offered for a fee,
and maps for self-guided walking tours are available.
Lake Havasu Lighthouse Club volunteers point out the importance of
protecting and preserving the natural resources and beauty of the lake
region for future generations.
"We’re novices at this," admits Bryan; "It’s our first festival. Come
and begin with us." For more information, visit the Lake Havasu
Lighthouse Club at:
www.lh-lighthouseclub.org. |
March
2006