Annual event hits the Boardwalk this Friday and Saturday
Hundreds of Shreveport-Bossier school children, the LifeAir Heliicopter, a 12-time USA Olympic Swimmer, plus special demonstrations on water safety and swimming programs will be just a few of the many highlights at this year’s 7th Annual Water Safety Festival May 11 and 12, under the Texas Street Bridge at the Louisiana Boardwalk.
The two-day festival kicks-off 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Friday, May 11, with safe summer presentations by the Mayors of Shreveport and Bossier City joining special guest athletes. This year’s theme is “The Red River-Your Natural Resource” that will be the focus for some 900 elementary school children.
Christus Sutton Children’s Medical Center is the official sponsor for the Corps of Engineers national “Wear It” Lifejacket campaign, providing free lifejackets while they last, to children on Saturday, May 12 (for infants thru pre-teens).
Also sponsored b the national U.S.A. Swimming Foundation “Make a Splash” program, 12-time National Olympic champion Byron Davis from USA Swimming, will be joined by members of the Shreveport-Bossier Fire Department Dive Team and Ozark Society , to demonstrate life-saving techniques for the kids in a large outdoor pool provided by the Bass Pro Shop at the Louisiana Boardwalk.
Saturday, May 12, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., is the final day for the Water Resource Festival, free to the public at the Louisiana Boardwalk featuring water safety, fish and waterfowl biology, water resources, and more.
A simulated “man-overboard rescue” with the Life Air Rescue Helicopter is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday, with best viewing from the Louisiana Boardwalk just behind the Texas St. Bridge festival activity booths. Participating in the exercise will be members of the Caddo-Bossier Sheriff’s Red River Joint Task Force, and the United States Coast Guard.
The State of Louisiana is known as “the sportsman’s paradise,” this event will reach an anticipated 20,000 visitors giving better knowledge of the Natural Resources of the Red River, Louisiana waterways.
The Water Resource Festival will continue to emphasize how to “Make a Splash for Life” by learning to swim, wearing a lifejacket, and other techniques to stay safe in the water.
Partners & Sponsors for this year’s event include:. Swimming/USA Swimming Foundation; Louisiana Boardwalk; Spirit of Bossier Exchange Club; La. Dept. of Wildlife & Fisheries; Bass Pro Shop; U.S. Coast Guard; Talk of the Town with Tom Pace; Citizen's Bank; KTBS-TV3; Bass Life Associates; Kent Sporting Goods; Shreveport Fire Department; Bossier Fire Department; Caddo Parish Sheriff's Department; Bossier Parish Sheriff's Department; Red River Joint Task Force; Life Air Rescue; Shreveport Sail and Power Squadron; U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary; Red River Waterway Commission; National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration; Ozark Society; Northwest Louisiana Fly Fishers; and Louisiana State University-Shreveport.
