Rock River Anything That Floats Race Drops Anchor

ROCKFORD, IL – April 16, 2025 — After nearly a decade of laughter, engineering brilliance and good-natured adventure on the Rock River, the organizers of the Rock River Anything That Floats Race (RRATFR) announced the event’s closure for the foreseeable future.

First launched by a radio station in the spirit of summer fun in 1976 - and revived for the same reason by civic-minded volunteers in 2017 - RRATFR has been, for decades, one of Rockford’s most beloved warm-weather traditions. With floating tiki bars, dragons, outhouses, Viking ships, FRAGILE leg lamps and every other imaginable vessel cobbled together in backyards and garages of local teams, the race brought together engineers and amateurs, businesses and families, old friends and new. At its peak, the event attracted tens of thousands of spectators, helping generate significant local business revenue and showcasing Rockford’s passionate connection to our beloved riverfront.

In recent years, however, it became increasingly difficult for the race's volunteer steering committee to secure the sponsorship and participation support necessary to keep the event afloat. Like so many post-pandemic cultural traditions, RRATFR has faced tough headwinds – economic, logistical and perhaps generational.

“It sailed, it sank - and it sailed again,” said organizers. “We’re proud to have done our work to carry forward a cherished Rockford tradition, even if this latest voyage now draws to a close. Maybe a new crew of river-loving Rockfordians will dream up what comes next. We hope someone will.”

From 2017 to 2023, the modern-day RRATFR helped spark a deeper relationship between the community and its riverfront. The event coincided with, and in many ways embodied, Rockford’s Downtown Renaissance. New bars, restaurants, housing developments and green spaces sprang to life along the banks. While RRATFR will not claim direct credit for every paddle stroke of that growth, we know the race was a small part of a bigger cultural tide: one of pride, play, vision and possibility.

By the numbers:

• More than 300 rafts entered the most recent races over seven years

• Thousands of volunteer hours donated

• Many tens of thousands of dollars of in-kind donations

• Direct business investment through sponsorship

• Tens of thousands of spectators drawn downtown

• Many causes, vendors, musicians and nonprofits supported and spotlighted, such as the Rock River Trail, Rockford Ski Broncs, Fourth of July Committee, Rockford Park District, Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful and more.

The RRATFR.com website will remain online for a short time, and select photo and video archives may eventually live on elsewhere. Our social media accounts will also stay up for a while - not as abandoned digital ghosts, but as “In Memoriam” walls filled with the memories, photos and laughter of races past. We invite you to tag your favorite moments and help preserve this joyful part of our city’s story.

To every rafter, builder, band, volunteer, sponsor and fan: thank you. You made magic out of plywood, barrels and dreams.

Maybe we’ll see you on the water someday in the future.

Bon voyage, Rockford.

History

On a cold January night in 1976, a local radio personality and a British gentleman met at the Sweden House bar and dreamt up the original raft race concept over cocktails. The radio personality mentioned he’d been challenged by his boss to create a 1976 Bicentennial Fourth of July promotion for the community - and complained he just didn’t know what to do. Read the rest of the story here!