Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014
Boonville River Festival & Missouri River Clean-up 2014
Franklin Island Conservation Area and Isle of Capri Hotel & Casino
As part of our 2014 Big Muddy Clean Sweep, a two-month continuous clean-up in September & October, we spent a wonderful week in Boonville. The day included two events in one with the Boonville Missouri River Clean-up and first ever River Festival. It was a full day of fun on the river - one we'll never forget!
In the morning, 200 volunteers hit the muddy, receding river in boats to remove an estimated 3.4 tons of junk from the river. A huge shout out to our agency boat drivers from the MO Dept. of Conservation and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service who took out lots of eager volunteers.
After the clean-up, we gathered in the Isle of Capri Hotel & Casino parking lot, in the shadow of the iconic Katy Bridge, for an afternoon of art, river education, fantastic music, food and more.
More than 25 booths of educational exhibitors, kids activities, student art exhibits and even a contingent from the Boonville farmer's market filled up the NW corner of the Isle's parking lot. The music was fantastic, as we enjoyed tunes from WildHeart, The Boone County Tick Pickers, Violet and the UnderCurrents and the Cindy Wolfe Band.
We finished up our big week on Sunday & Monday hauling and disposing of all the trash. Advanced Disposal donated a roll off dumpster for landfill, Gavilon Fertilizer took our scrap metal, and Bridgestone/Firestone sent a truck where we loaded 144 tires to be recycled by Black Gold from our Clean Sweep efforts through Brunswick to Boonville.
Plus, we hit the classrooms for two weeks before the event, sharing river knowledge and engaging local students in the future of the river. Here's a great story about one of these wonderful student projects, a "Trash to Art" exhibit by Boonville High School students.
A huge thanks to all of our partners, volunteers & sponsors who helped make these events possible, Boonville really stepped up and made the first ever River Festival a huge success.
River Rat drawings by Tim Nadeau
Trash Tally!
121 Bags of Trash
39 Tires
1 Refrigerator Door
1 - 55-Gallon Plastic Barrel
3 - 55-Gallon Metal Drums
5 - 5-Gallon Plastic Buckets
3 - 5-Gallon Metal Buckets
3 - 5-Gallon Metal Oil Cans
8 Chunks Styrofoam (very large)
1 Propane Tank
1 Plastic Lawn Chair
1 Plastic Lawn Chair Seat
2 Plastic Planter Tubs (25 gallon)
1 Furnace Blower Pipe
1 Car Bumper
1 Iron Fence Pole
1 Molded Child’s Headboard (faux oak)
1 Plastic Horseshoe (red, life size)
2 Conservation Signs
Trash Contest! (Winners in Bold)
1 Glass Medicine Bottle
1 Bubble Wand
1 Bobber
1 Dice
1 Weird Bone
1 Metal Loveseat (very nice)
1 Truck Tire
1 Message on a Ping Pong Ball
1 Golf Ball
2 Baseballs
2 Tennis Balls
6 Unique Glass Bottles
1 Railroad Spike
1 Cigarette Lighter
1 Torpedo (plastic)
1 Animal Skull (very long snout)
1 Gar Skeleton
1 Duck Decoy (Pintail duck)
1 Marker (red)
1 Plastic Mustache (glow-in-the-dark)
1 full can of Hairspray (volumizing)
1 Yellow Comb
1 Cobblers Shoe
1 Baby Flip-Flop (very tiny)
1 Air Horn Can (corroded)
1 Reflector
1 Decorator Icing Kit
1 green plastic Sand Box Turtle Lid
3 Light Bulbs
1 Reflective KU Business Cup
1 purple McDonald’s Toy
1 plastic Fire Extinguisher Toy
1 Love Cologne Mist
A Big Muddy Thanks to our River Festival Sponsors:
"Bald Eagle" $1,000+
"Hawk" $750-$999
"Blue Heron" $500-$749
"Pelican" $250-$499
Copies Etc
Hotel Frederick - The Fred Restaurant & Lounge
Turner Hall River Rats for the Arts
Mellor Trailers
Missouri River Monument
Rick Ball Auto Mall
"Snow Geese" $100-$249
Alliance Water Resources, Inc.
Boone County National Bank
Boonslick Coalition for Sustainable Living
Browning Hardware Inc.
Celestial Body
Citizens Bank & Trust
First State Community Bank
RoseHeart Gardens
87 Diner
"Swallow" $25 and up
A-Bow_K Florist & Gifts
Imhoff's Hometown Appliances
State Farm Insurance - Jennifer Wesselman
dignitaries boat cruise, photo from Anecita Sancho Alvizo