LAKEPORT >> Combining gasoline, nitrous-oxide, lake water, horsepower and beautiful pin-up girls was a recipe for success as the inaugural Lakeside Car and Hot Boat Show, held Saturday, July 18 at Konocti Vista Casino in Lakeport, donated $2,950 to the Lake County Theatre Company. The vision of boat racer and auto enthusiast Dave Lakatos, the show brought very high-horsepower boats from as far away as Southern California and cars from all over to the delight of spectators and enthusiasts in a one-day fun-for-all event.
All proceeds from the show, which was subsidized by Lakatos, were given to the Lake County Theatre Company who are working to establish a permanent home for the performing arts in Lake County. The Theatre Company, which puts on numerous plays and other events every year, has been actively working toward this goal.
“We are consistently amazed by the support the Lake County Theatre Company gets from the community,” said its President and owner of Cheese’s Main Street Pizza Tim “Cheese” Barnes. “We loved being part of the show this year and really look forward to growing it next year.”
From morning to night the show offered entertainment of all sorts from incredible vintage cars to ultra-performance boats. There were photos with pin-up girls, a breakfast with Tango Mike, barbecue and even the Fargo Brothers band got into the act with a nighttime concert. The daytime entertainment consisted of car tunes and announcements from Lakeport-based Sounds Like FUN! Entertainment.
But one person couldn’t do it all and the show was really a tribute to the incredible people of Lake County. Scott DeLeon, Director of Public Works and Water Resources, worked closely with Jill Ruzika, Senior Administrative Analyst, and District 4 Supervisor Anthony Farrington to waive all permit fees to get the boats to be able to do exhibition runs on Clear Lake. Konocti Vista Casino covered the show with their insurance and provided the grounds, the docks, the launch and their facilities for the event at no cost. The Casino and its team also provided advertising for the show in advance and security before, during and after for the very valuable vehicles and boats.
Operation Tango Mike’s Ginny Cravens worked the Konocti Vista banquet facilities to provide a pancake breakfast for the crew which also raised money for that organization with the food graciously prepared by Konocti Vista. Lakeport-based event company Sounds Like FUN Entertainment’s Tony Barthel provided music during the day and help with coordinating the event in advance.
The Sheriff’s department was also big in the picture with Sergeant Don McPherson, who oversees the boat patrol, arranging for specific protected access to Clear Lake for the high-performance boats. In addition, Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin was on-hand for an event called a “cacklefest” where the boats rev their motors briefly to see which is the loudest.
“Our decibel meter couldn’t even measure the loudest boats,” said Sheriff Martin who awarded a trophy for the loudest boat during the afternoon awards.
McPherson got to “enjoy” a ride in one of these boats which hit over 100 mph on the lake in short order and propelled the former combat veteran into a zone he hadn’t been to before. “I’ve been in combat and this was close to that in testing my nerves,” said McPherson.
Punctuated by lousy jokes by MC Tony Barthel, there were over two dozen awards and some incredible raffle prizes presented at a mid-afternoon awards ceremony. Local businesses and the Lake County Winery Association proved incredibly generous with their prizes which included vehicle servicing, cooking items, wine, car stereo speakers, Wine Adventure and Wine Auction passes and even an overnight stay at the Featherbed Railroad.
“It was great welcoming people from around the county and all over California to this show,” beamed Sheriff Brian Martin, “We’re looking forward to even more events like this in the future!”
Dave Lakatos, the show’s visionary, was inspired to co-produce this show by a desire to bring the high-performance boats back to Clear Lake while also working to raise money for a local charity. “It was great to see all these cars and boats in one place — this show brought people from all over.”
The team was so pleased with the results of this show that they are already working on a larger version for 2016. For more information on this or other automotive events there are photos and more listed at www.curbside.tv.
