Dennis Honkomp and his 11-year-old chihuahua named Sammy were enjoying the Living Lands & Waters (LLW) Barge Party on Thursday night, June 13.
While Sammy got a few treats, Mr. Honkomp enjoyed the food, drinks, music and relaxed atmosphere at Beacon Harbor in East Moline. While the party features were great, he said he was in the Quad Cities to show his support for the work of LLW in cleaning up rivers and its founder and leader, Chad Pregracke.
“River cleanups are so important to me. … I helped Chad with a river cleanup a long time ago in Hannibal (Missouri). I support what Chad does,” said Mr. Honkomp, who lives near New London, Missouri.
Mr. Honkomp was one of nearly 1,000 people to attend the annual party along the banks of the Mississippi River in East Moline. The Barge Party, in addition to providing a good time for many residents and LLW supporters, is one of LLW’s largest fundraisers of the year.
The organization calls the party its flagship event, bringing together more than 900 people, including crew members, sponsors, and supporters, for a night of celebration and fundraising along the picturesque Mississippi River.
Proceeds from the event will go towards renovating the Beacon Harbor building on the East Moline riverfront to turn it into a headquarters for LLW. Signs at the party stated the fundraising goal for the building is $249,500. Some of the renovation projects include deck repairs, roof work, plumbing and electric, and much more.
Mr. Pregracke called the event an example of “people power.”
“I like bringing like-minded people together. … Our whole organization is based on people power,” he said, adding that power can be seen in LLW’s many river cleanup, tree-planting and education projects.
During the early hours of the party, Mr. Pregracke was being kept busy giving hundreds of guests tours of one of LLW’s biggest assets – a recently completed barge that is used as a classroom to show students about careers available on and along the river. (That barge was on display at last year’s Barge Party while it was still a work in progress.)
Mr. Pregracke said that he hopes the barge will be able to show young people they can have river-related jobs, such as biologists, welders and dredge operators.
“This could change lives. … There is something for everybody out here on the river. There’s 2,300 miles of opportunity,” he said referring to the length of the Mississippi River.
During the barge tours, he showed visitors the classroom portion which includes desks, chairs, large screens to show videos, and a kitchen area.
Some of the other features of the classroom barge include:
- A canoe launch: The barge has three 14-passenger canoes, offering river excursions for visitors. Those canoes were not in place during the Barge Party festivities.
- Recycled turf: The ramp of the barge will soon be covered in recycled turf from Brady Street Stadium in Davenport. The turf will allow the barge crew to safely and smoothly launch the 14-passenger canoes.
- Recycled metal siding: The siding on the barge was one part of McLaughlin Body Company tractors. “We deliberately selected this recycled material to immortalize its significance,” according to a sign on the side of the barge.
- Signs from the river: The classroom walls are partially covered with signs and other materials recovered by crew members during river cleanup missions.
- Welded art: Much of the barge railing is decorated with iron that has been shaped and welded into art forms, such as images of fish, a canoe, trees and much more. A crew member created much of that art. During the tour, visitors learned students from Davenport West High School designed some of the art features.
That classroom barge will be docked at Beacon Harbor for a few more days, but it will be on the move soon. The barge will be off to St. Louis next week, and will later go to Memphis, Tennessee.
The barge was only one of the attractions at Thursday’s party. Other highlights included a fry and shrimp boil, wine pull, live music by the band For Those About To Yacht, a cash bar, and a tent filled with art for auction.
That tent was the center of activities during the opening hour as many visitors stopped by to look over the art and place bids for the silent auction. Some of that art included a handcrafted cutting board, driftwood turned into art, a painting of Taylor Swift created on a recycled mylar wrapper by artist Marie Stephens, and a U.S. flag painted on a wood pallet by artist Terry “Happyman” Wangler.
Just before the party’s start, two first-time volunteers – Lindsay Vargas and Meghan Purcell, both of Bettendorf – were looking over the art and waiting for their work assignments for the event. Both said they were inspired to volunteer because of the work of LLW.
“I support Chad’s message. … Lindsay and I are both boat owners. We need to protect the environment,” said Ms. Purcell.
Ms. Vargas added: “I’m here because I’ve heard what Chad’s doing and it’s important.”
LLW is an award-winning, non-profit organization dedicated to protecting, preserving, and restoring the health and vitality of our nation’s rivers and watersheds. Founded by Mr. Pregracke, the organization has made strides in river cleanup efforts and environmental education since its inception in 1998.
With a mission to provide hands-on opportunities for individuals and communities to take part in the restoration of their natural water resources, LLW has become a leading voice for environmental stewardship in the United States.
Since its start, LLW has removed more than 13.2 million pounds of trash from rivers, planted more than 2.1 million trees, educated about 28,000 students and engaged more than 130,000 volunteers.
