We're setting sail again! 

The Big Float 3
WHEN:   Sunday  July 28, 2013
WHERE:   Willamette River    Portland, Oregon
WHO:   2,000+ floaters   1,000+ observers and after-partiers
WHY:   To give our river a hug 

Beach party here we come
This year, instead of crossing the Willamette River, we’ll float downstream. We launch from Marquam Beach (same as last year) and take out at the Tom McCall Bowl – on the west bank of the river just south of the Hawthorne Bridge.

This is where we UnRocked the Beach last fall. And it’s where we’ll gather after the float for Portland’s first downtown beach party – including a music barge and three bands. Revelers can recline in their watercraft on the river – or frolic on the beach or grass bowl. 

Click to View Oregonian 2012 TBF 2 Recap Video

TBF 3 features
Beach party
Live music barge (3 bands)
Food carts, beverages
Changing rooms and check-in for valuables
Free chair massages
Fun for kids

The Big Float is open to all ages. All floaters must wear a life jacket. It's a safe voyage, not a race. Join the flotilla and attend the grandest pool party Portland has ever seen!

The evolution of TBF
The Big Float was launched in July of 2010. In that inaugural event, and at last summer’s TBF II, thousands of intrepid floaters made the “Great Crossing” of the Willamette. Last year’s spectacle made a huge splash in the local media. Visibility and interest continue to rise and the tide to embrace our river is growing stronger.
 

Despite public perception (which we are trying to change), the Willamette River is approved for summer swimming, except in the now very rare instances when Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) conditions are present.

With the Big Pipe project now complete, it’s expected that a CSO will occur only once every two summers (but very likely never again). You are more likely to see a whale swim up the Willamette than see a CSO in summer! Oregon DEQ states that when CSO conditions are not present, “the Willamette River is safe for swimming and other recreational uses.”

Questions? Click on the link below for official explanations of Willamette River water quality from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services and City of Portland Office of Healthy Working Rivers.  Additionally visit the Bureau of Environmental Services Willamette River Water Quality Page to check in on weekly monitoring results at eight sites May-October.

This third annual Willamette River event, benefitting the Human Access Project, is a celebration of our river – including the recreation it offers as well as the restoration it has undergone in recent years. The idea is to enjoy the river and also inspire positive aspirations for the river’s protection and improvement.

*  Outlandish Watercraft Award   

*  Best-of-Cruise Costume Award     

*  Paddlers parade - kayakers, canoeists, dragon boaters, crew teams, SUP’ers