The 17th annual IU Regatta drew students, families and community members Sept. 27 to the Indianapolis Canal for a day of racing, music, activities and food. The event, hosted by the Division of Student Affairs, featured canoe races, a scavenger hunt, live entertainment and tents with hands-on activities.
Regatta is more than a boat race. The event raises money for student scholarships and provides opportunities for campus groups to connect with the community.
“The really cool thing about Regatta is it is promoted in the community as a community event. You do not have to be a student on this campus to row. You do not have to be a student on this campus to attend,” said CJ Hutchison, the associate executive director of external affairs.
This year’s race ran from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on a day with temperatures in the mid-70s to high 80s. Attendees arriving from Lot 85 found an information tent where they could pick up passports for the scavenger hunt. Upon visiting different booths and events, attendees got stickers to fill the passport. Acquiring seven stickers would result in a free shirt and tote bag.
From there, visitors passed the food trucks and tents hosted by student organizations and schools. The Herron School of Art and Design tent featured linoleum printing, three-dimensional sculpture and pottery demonstrations.
“This is a display of what art education can really do for the community, because we have adults here, we have kids and everyone’s just having a good time. That was just kind of a reminder that you need art,” said Mary McKinney, co-president of the Art Education Association.
In addition to painting and pottery, Herron hosted a watercolor art booth. Attendees layered paint on shaving cream before pressing into it and scraping off the shaving cream to create a print.
A variety of other tents and booths tabled at Regatta, each offering unique merchandise and resources.
“All these students are my art education majors so it's giving them experience working with people, teaching them how to do art with people and engaging them with different things. They actually did all the planning for it. So they came up with the ideas,” said Alexa Kulinski, assistant professor of art education at Herron School of Art.
Down the stairs to the canal, friends and teammates were heard cheering as each team paddled towards the finish. Some ran from the starting along the canoe of their teammates and friends chanting in motivation. Different groups wore shirts to show their unity as a team.
For students and guests, it can be an exciting experience to watch as they paddle down the canal, trying to avoid hitting the canal walls. When the stakes of the competition run high, the canoes are bound to flip. This leaves viewers full of anticipation, feeling the tension around the water as those rowers paddle past.
After watching the races, crowds hovered near the food trucks. One of the food trucks available was Bearded Burger. They had burgers, chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders and grilled cheese. Other options were, Pi Indy, Coke Slushie Truck, Ben's Soft Pretzels, So Cheesy, Ohanalulu and Pili's Party Taco. Buying something from a food truck received a sticker towards the event passport. This was the only non-free part of the event for guests.
The Passport had an option of meeting IU Indianapolis’s official mascots, Jawz and Jazzy. In order to receive the sticker, guests had to stop and say hello before taking a picture with the characters. They were found in multiple spots including the different IU tents and down on the canal.
Later that afternoon, at 1:15 p.m. on the stage above the canal. Each contestant wore a different costume and got a chance to walk across the stage for a chance to win one of the top three. A few dogs that walked included Bruno the flash yorkie, Gracie and Luna the banana golden retrievers and Hunk the bee beagle. The winners were in third place, Milly the clown, in second place, Baby the panda, and in first place, Benny the ‘bad pet.’ The crowd cheered and praised each dog as they made their way across the stage.
Near the food trucks there were a few games guests could have played including inflatable axe throwing and an inflatable ride that required riders to jump and duck without having their legs swept from underneath them, a popular activity amongst children attendees.
At 3:45 p.m. the Regatta Royalty contest began. The contestants were Nicole Gordon, Molly McCord, Ariana Garcia, Kena Baker, Eliza Surdzdial, Karla Bohnenkamp and Rohini Vemparala. In preparation, they walked around to greet guests and offer them stickers for their passport. The winners were Karla Bohenkamp and Molly McCord.
Mattering on how long attendees stayed, they made their way back towards the front of the event. After completing the scavenger hunt, attendees stopped by the information tent to retrieve their prizes. The crowd slowly dispersed from the event as the afternoon went on till the closing ceremony.
At the end of the day after the races concluded the winners were announced. The winners this year were Gum D-Seas for the female division, Brushing Besties for the co-ed division and Canine Kings for the male division.
Devin Bates (they/he) is a journalism major at IU Indianapolis with an interest in writing and the arts. In their free time they also enjoy crafts like cosplay and listening to music.
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