GET YOUR SHIP TOGETHER!
The 2024 Rock River Anything That Floats Race sets sail on Sunday, August 18th
Come aboard!
Register Your Raft for Just $76
In honor of Independence Day, for a limited time (July 4 - July 18, 2024) register your raft for just $76 using promo code RAFT76. It only takes a couple minutes to register online, but the memories you make on the river will last a lifetime. Get your ship together and paddle like it's 1976!
Watch ‘em Float
Come together with the community on our Rock River’s shore Sunday, August 18 and watch the parade of rafts, share some oohs and ahhs and laughs and sunshine. The historic Rock River Anything That Floats Race is sure to be a highlight of your summer.
Volunteer
The Rock River Anything That Floats Race is a 100% volunteer effort and we’re always looking for more hands on deck to do all kinds of things on Race Day. Want to help? Come on aboard! We’d love to have you join us.
Watch Race Action.
From vintage to modern race footage to tv spots to a documentary short about a team of high school students creating the Spirit of Survival, 2019’s People’s Choice-winning Viking ship raft, there’s plenty of action footage and inspiration for teams looking for clues of what to build this year. Racers from past years; take a look! There’s a good chance you’ll see yourselves in action.
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 radio brass to create a Bicentennial (1976) Fourth of July promotion for the community - and complained he just didn’t know what to do.
Just The Facts.
Click here for everything you need to know, from race rules to how to register, to tried-and-true raft-building methods to a race schedule and more.
AFTER A 3 YEAR HIATUS, RRATFR WAS BACK IN THE SADDLE. Y'ALL DIDN'T MISS A STROKE.
From Barbie Boats to the Mario Brothers to pirate ships, smiles returned to the shores of the Rock River while supporting the Rockford Fourth of July Civic Committee, Rockford Park District, Loves Park Ski Broncs, and Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful. FLOAT ON!
Release The Quackin! Go Ducks, Go!
Join us from Noon - 3:00pm, Sunday, August 18, 2024 on the Docks at Prairie Street Brewing Co and Release the Quackin! Using our giant Dockside Slingshot, racers and fans can fire Rubber Ducks at a floating offshore target in the middle of the river to win valuable prizes. This is not your grandfather's Duck Drop!
