Hometown Heroes Concert at Aquafest, September 3, 1983

Hometown Heroes Concert at Aquafest, September 3,  1983

The inaugural Great Raft Race was organized and initiated by Ron Blue, the General Manager of KRMG, to be held on Labor Day in September 1973. There were over 160 raft entries and 500 competitors that first year, with a $1000 cash prize up for grabs. The annual Race was a floating frenzy and spectator delight along the  Arkansas River beginning in Sand Springs and finishing roughly 9 miles later at the 23rd Street bridge. Everything and anything that could possibly float was entered into the race.

“For 19 years, the Great Raft Race was a water-borne Sand Springs-to-Tulsa circus of Pokie Okies, water wars, occasional dunkings, and some of the most gawd-awful contrivances ever set afloat. Or nearly set afloat,” wrote Tulsa World reporter Mike Kimbrell in a Tulsa World article in 2015.  

But in 1983, on September 2nd, just before Labor Day’s Great Raft Race 11, River Parks Authority officials, Mayor Jim Inhoff, dignitaries, and business leaders celebrated the dedication of the long-awaited, low-water dam and Zink Lake at the multi-day event called Aquafest.

Photo provided by River Parks Authority

Festivities started on Friday with a concert by the Tulsa Philharmonic Orchestra with a guest appearance of Disney’s “Goofy.” 

On Saturday, there was a jam-packed schedule of events to keep everyone entertained. Vintage bi-planes soared through the sky and dropped balloons as part of the dedication ceremony of Zink Lake and the low-water dam at noon. 

Participants took part in a 4-mile Cerebral Palsy Run along the west bank, and the waiter and waitress relay added a touch of excitement. Meanwhile, the Green Country Soccer Assn. organized the Metropolitan Classic Cup II soccer tournament, attracting 85 teams from all over. Sports enthusiasts also had the chance to witness an invitational meet between the TU Rugby Club and the University of Kansas. The first-ever “annual” Mayor’s Cup Regatta, a sailboat invitational on the Arkansas River, drew sailors from the tri-state area and collegiate crews to race. Mayor Inhofe and his crew emerged victorious.

Photo provided by the River Parks Authority

There were plenty of children’s activities, including jugglers, puppets, and lively carnival booths, while folksingers provided a musical backdrop. 

On the Old West Playground, Saturday’s Hometown Heroes Day showcased local musical talents with the likes of Flash Terry, Smokin’ Joe & the Blue Tones, the Dominant Factor Band, and Earl Clark and Spectrum.  Saturday afternoon had been warm with temperatures hovering in the mid-nineties. 

Tulsa World Ad. September 3, 1983

Signed Poster loaned by Rick Husky and Russ Cozort

Thousands gathered on the Old West Playground just south of the 23rd Street Bridge, eagerly awaiting the Hometown Heroes concert in the evening heat. “Leon Russell on the West Bank” produced by Larry Shaeffer of Little Wing, began at 6 pm. The evening kicked off with a high-energy performance by Jim Sweney and the Jumpshotz, followed by the talented Bridgeclimbers, Jim Byfield with Debby Campbell, Dwight Twilley, and opening act, Donna Williams and Fat Tuesday. Finally, the legendary Leon Russell headlined at 10 pm, captivating the crowd with old favorites and foot-stomping rock & roll.

Little Wing’s Hometown Heroes concert celebrated Leon’s long-awaited return to Tulsa, bringing back memories of his electrifying performance at a sold-out Cain’s Ballroom in March 1982. A bonified superstar since the early 70’s the Master of Space and Time is undoubtedly Tulsa’s musical hero. 

Photo from 9/3/83 Hometown Heroes Concert, Tulsa World staff photographer John Southern

                                                                                                                                                      Festivities and concerts continued Sunday with the Native Sons & Daughters headlined by Gus Hardin, and, as was tradition, The Great Raft Race #11 began early on Labor Day, August 5th.

By August 5th, Leon had already made it to Columbia, Tennessee’s Electric Cowboy Festival, where he rocked the crowd. Leon Russell, Kansas, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Gregg Allman, The Marshall Tucker Band, Joe Walsh, INXS, and seventeen more acts performed at the three-day festival hosted by Wolfman Jack. 

KRMG’s Great Raft Race was a yearly Tulsa tradition from 1973-1991, and one of the largest single-day events in Oklahoma. In its prime, it attracted more than 900 rafts and over 100,000 spectators. Promoters revived it in 2015-2019, but the pandemic and bridge construction prevented its return. 

Photo provided by the Tulsa Historical Society

This fall, the Great Raft Race will run down the Arkansas River once more.  The Big Dam Party, a four-day celebration of Zink Lake’s reopening, the whitewater flume, and the Williams Crossing Pedestrian Bridge, will take place from August 30-September 2. This event will also include music, food trucks, and other River Park festivities.