Racers to set sail in July

PLATTSBURGH | The 44th-annual Mayor's Cup Regatta & Festival will take place on July 10. This festival has been over a year in the making due to the impact of COVID-19. "This is such a great opportunity for us to really focus on some happiness and some sunshine in our community," President and Co-Director of the festival Sue LeBlanc-Durocher said in a June 3 press conference hosted by Sunrise Rotary. The press conference was held to announce all the events planned for the festival this year, reveal the new t-shirt design, and the new location for the festival. The festival will be moving from its usual location at Trinity Park to the sandy shores of Plattsburgh City Beach. "The gem. Our city beach is a gem and we want to continue to highlight it," City of Plattsburgh Mayor Chris Rosenquest said on the festival's move. Rosenquest went on to say how there will still be events downtown to promote the businesses and historic district. "Although we are shifting this event out of the downtown we are still looking at having a number of events downtown to promote our downtown business and to promote our historic district," said Rosenquest. Sunrise Rotary's T-Shirt Committee Co-Chairs Kathy Duley and Connie Fisher designed this year's t-shirt with the help of Rotarian Thom Loreman Sr. at his store Loremans' Embroidery Engraving and Screenprinting LLC. "We tried to create a logo that would celebrate our beautiful Lake City as well as celebrate the fact that we can start to feel like a community again and enjoy being together outdoors," said Duley. "I think the creation of this t-shirt is amazing," LeBlanc-Durocher said. Rosenquest added, "Anything with rainbows on it is a winner, it's a winner." T-shirts will be on sale starting June 9 and can be ordered online or at several businesses around Plattsburgh. To order online and see where you can purchase t-shirts in Plattsburgh visit www.PlattsburghSunriseRotary.org. The Mayor's Cup t-shirts are a tradition of the event, but they're not the only tradition associated with this fun-packed day. The annual regatta is also a highly anticipated tradition that has been around since 1978. Last year, there were only 30 boats that ended up participating in the race, due to COVID-19, but this year the Race Director Kjell Dahlen is hopeful for a bigger turnout. "I'm hopeful that we could get 40 to 50 boats this year," Dahlen said. The regatta itself is slightly changing this year as there is no entry fee and the barbecue traditionally held after the regatta, which hosts the awards ceremony, is canceled for this year and so is the live award ceremony due to COVID-19 precautions. Besides the regatta, there are other fun events planned throughout the day for non-sailers. There will be a 5K race held at Plattsburgh City Beach, a Cornhole Tournament, the first annual Mayor's Cup Beach Volleyball Tournament, a guided kayak tour, basic kayak instruction for children, live music, and much more. "This is one of our largest fundraisers that we do each year," said LeBlanc-Durocher on the importance of the Mayor's Cup Regatta & Festival. All of the funds raised from this event will go towards local organizations and projects. "We do feel that it's important to support our community. That's what this organization does and we're also looking for people in the community that would like to be part of that," LeBlanc-Durocher said. Rosenquest summarized the importance of the event, "This is really the pinnacle of our community. It is one of the most valued keystone, if you will, events in our community. This is one of those events that everybody looks forward to every single year." "Get your cornhole bags out and show up for the tournament," Sunrise Rotary President-Elect Jeff Prescott said.

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Racers to set sail in July

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