Ahoy! The classic boat show is back

By Lyndsie Kiebert
Reader Staff

The Inland Empire Chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society will cruise into Sandpoint next weekend with the annual Antique and Classic Boat Show, marking 17 years in which a flotilla of snazzy, old school water vessels grace the waves of Lake Pend Oreille.

An antique Chris-Craft cuts acrosss Lake Pend Oreille by the train bridge. Courtesy photo.

The show kicks off Friday, July 12 with the unloading and mooring of boats along the Sand Creek boardwalk. There will be a flag raising and playing of the national anthem at 9 a.m. on Saturday, July 13, after which the general public is welcome to view the boats until 3 p.m. Then, the boats will parade Sand Creek for everyone on the downtown waterfront to see. The boats, made from both wood and fiberglass, will also be available for public viewing Sunday, July 14 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Sandpoint boat show chairman BK Powell said the Inland Empire Chapter’s show moved to Sandpoint from Coeur d’Alene in 2002 due to scheduling conflicts, and has now been turning Sand Creek and surrounds into a hub of maritime history for close to two decades.

Powell said his favorite aspect of the annual event is the camaraderie between the boat owners, and he loves witnessing the “appreciation of things past from the spectators, who come to listen to the stories these boats have to tell.”

“So dust off the boats, evict the rodents, change the oil,” Powell said in the event announcement on his chapter’s website, “and we’ll see you at the 17th annual IEC Antique and Classic Boat show.”

For more information, visit sandpoint.org/boatfestival.