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FRIDAY, AUGUST 8, 2014
2:00 pm – 6:00pm Poker Run Registration Trailer – Kingston - Main street
Poker Run boats street display, in front of Confederation Basin and Downtown City Hall
Exhibit Displays – Confederation Park.
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm Registration at the Poker Runner Meet and Greet Party
SATURDAY, AUGUST 9, 2014
Breakfast will be available at the three official host hotels. You must wear your wristbands and please keep your vouchers handy.
8:00 am Doors open for late poker run waiver signing at Downtown City Hall
2nd floor of Kingston City Hall, 225 Ontario Street across from Confederation Park
Musicfest held nearby, starting 2pm Saturday in the garden courtyard of the Waterfront Kingston Holiday Inn
CARD #1 8:30AM SHARP - MANDATORY DRIVER’S MEETING
Roll Call will be taken. Two groups - under 55 mph and over 100 mph
10:00 am Ladies and Gentlemen Start Your Engines
Card #2 & Lunch 11:30am – 1:30 pm Brockville Municipal Marina
Poker Run Lunch at Ribfest in Hardy Park supporting Big Brothers and Big Sisters Card pick up at Ribfest – Follow signs from marina to Hardy Park a short walk
CARD #3 12:00 – 2:00PM PRESCOTT – PICK UP CARD FROM CARD BOAT
*** 3: 00pm Drive By Rockport ***
CARD #4 3:30PM – 4:00PM GANANOQUE– CARD BOAT
CARD #5 4:00 -5:30 PM PICK UP YOUR LAST CARD AT THE POKER RUNS AMERICA REGISTRATION IN CONFEDERATION PARK
6:30PM – 8:30PM STEAK AND LOBSTER POKER RUN DINNER FOR DRIVERS AND CREW
Awards Ceremony and Dinner – New for 2014 - The Poker Run dinner is in Kingston’s City Hall following with the awards ceremony in the Town Square.
8:30 PM – 10:30PM AWARDS CEREMONY *UNDER THE STARS*
Poker Run participants, card unveiling and the poker run helicopter footage will be featured on the outdoor ‘Jumbo Tron’.
THE PUBLIC IS WELCOME to join the action in the Town Square Saturday at 8:30pm.
'You can't get much better than that'
It took six crew members, a matching transport truck and about 600 gallons of fuel to run My Way, the most talked about speed-boat of the 1000 Islands Poker Run, along the St. Lawrence River course Saturday.
The flashy cigarette boat owned by Rockport summer resident Bill Tomlinson was again the first to appear on the calm horizon, followed by nearly 100 other boats hoping to take home the winning hand.
Legs dangled over the western edge of Blockhouse Island while others perched on the rocky shoreline at Hardy Park, just to get a view of the revved-up engines and crews.
Without a cloud in the sky, Tomlinson said weather conditions were nearly perfect this year, so much that the 2,000-3,000 turbine engines were able to reach between 140 and 180 kilometres-per-hour.
But the ultra-fast speedster can attain an even higher momentum, said Tomlinson, who once sped at 360 kilometres an hour during a competition in the United States.
Although boaters tend to speed the course, organizers reminded boaters earlier this week that “speed has no bearing” during the game of luck and chance.
Perhaps the only downside to the annual Poker Run may be the blow to the boaters' wallets, though no one seemed too concerned with the cost.
“For the whole trip today, it (My Way) will probably burn 600 gallons of fuel at a dollar a litre,” said Stan Quinn, who has been the transport driver with the crew for nearly 20 years.
“In total, it will probably be about $2,400.”
But despite the startling price tag, more boaters registered in the event this year, up from only 65 in 2013, according to organizers.
As boaters arrived at the municipal marina around 11:30 a.m., crowds lined up along the dock to snag a few photos with the vessels, some costing well over $1 million.
Dale DeJong was one of several city employees set with the task of docking the boats and allowing some spectators to climb on board.
Teanna Miller was one such onlooker who brought her 13-month-old, Izzabella, on board My Way.
“We just asked if we could take a picture on the boat and he agreed,” said Miller. “I knew she would love it.”
DeJong, who has been working with the City of Brockville for about 20 years, said although the turnout was impressive, parking downtown seemed to be challenge.
“It's so hard to get down here right now with Ribfest and the markets on,” DeJong said, adding it could be hard for some spectators to walk far distances.
Kerri-Ann Harrison, who works for the city over the summer months before heading back to university in the fall, said Saturday was the busiest day in Brockville she could remember.
“Hopefully it slows down once the boats are in so more spectators can see them,” she said.
Earlier this week, organizer Bill Taylor said between 25,000 and 35,000 people were expected to visit the islands for the Poker Run and Ribfest.
“There’s a fairly large economic impact on the islands during this weekend as well,” Taylor acknowledged earlier this week.
Claude Vachon travelled from Ottawa to view the run and grab a rack or two of ribs in neighbouring Hardy Park, he said.
“With the temperature out here right now, you can't get much better than that.”
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