Lakeport >> Come this Sunday, one lucky — or not so lucky, depending on your point of view — man or woman will have the opportunity to kiss a Clear Lake bass right on the lips.
Although none of the contestants harbor a strong desire to kiss a fish, it’s all for a good cause. Hosted by the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, Kiss My Clear Lake Bass is a fundraiser for the organization while also donating to various nonprofits around the county. Twelve candidates representing various entities are competing for the chance to pucker up and each has selected a nonprofit. The chamber will give cash prizes to the charities picked by the three candidates with the most votes.
The way it works is this: the public votes for their preferred candidate by paying $1 for a voting slip. They can vote as many times as they like, and voting is open until 6 p.m. Sunday night. Whoever receives the most votes will be kissing a bass at Library Park Sunday evening. The winner’s charity will receive $1,000. Second place receives $500 for their nonprofit. Third place is $250.
Jennifer Strong of Strong Financial Network chose the Soper Reese Theatre as her charity, for their hard work in bringing arts to the community. If kissing a bass means more money for the theater, she’s all for it.
“It’s important to support the community,” Strong said. “It’s another way to bring awareness to a local nonprofit that’s doing good things. It’s not that I have an overwhelming desire to kiss a fish.”
It didn’t take much convincing to get Record-Bee Outdoors Writer Terry Knight to participate. As soon as he knew he could select a charity, he was in. He chose Hospice Services, who helped him greatly through the passing of his wife last year. Now, he’s an ambassador for the organization.
The idea for Kiss My Clear Lake Bass came from a similar competition the Chamber of Commerce hosted years back, where individuals competed to kiss a live pig. Since it was such a successful fundraiser, chamber CEO Melissa Fulton decided it was time to bring back something similar. And with the oldest lake in the western hemisphere right here in the county, a lake that attracts huge numbers of bass fishermen and tourists every year, Kiss My Clear Lake Bass made perfect sense.
The candidates aren’t too concerned about getting up close and personal with a smelly fish.
“I’ve probably kissed much worse in my life,” said Strong.
Tallman Hotel owner Bernie Butcher, who picked the Lake County Land Trust as his charity, expressed a similar sentiment. “I’ve kissed a lot of things in my day,” he said.
When the Chamber hosted Kiss My Pig, Barbara Brunig, of Hillside Powersports and Marine, won that event two years in a row. Kissing a fish can’t be any worse than smooching a pig, she said. “Probably smells better, too,” she added.
If Brunig places in the top three, the money will be going to the family of Dept. Jake Steely.
Knight was a fitting choice for the competition, given how much interaction he has with bass on a regular basis. He explained that for bass fishermen, kissing a fish isn’t uncommon. It happens on televised competitions all the time. Though they only kiss the head of the fish. For Kiss My Clear Lake Bass, candidates are required to kiss the mouth.
Recently, the candidates were invited to a chamber dinner, where they were asked to speak on why they wanted to kiss a bass. Knight went with a tongue-in-cheek response. “I said, ‘Clear Lake has the cutest bass of any lake in the United States. But the problem is they’re only four to five years old and if you kiss them you get in trouble with the law.’”
The winner will be revealed tomorrow evening at Lakeport’s Library Park during a barbecue hosted by the Kiwanis Club. The family-friendly event lasts from 3-7 p.m. and includes children’s games and music by Jim Williams and Friends.
Tickets for the barbecue are $15 for adults, $5 for kids aged 6-12 and free for children five and under. Tickets can be purchased at the barbecue. Votes can be placed at the event up until 6 p.m.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
