What do a dinosaur party, Mickey Mouse, Pac-man and Noah's Arc have in common?
They were all giant neon artworks affixed to vivid vessels in a 17 strong flotilla dazzling thousands of people at live sites around Lake Macquarie as part of the annual Float Your Boat festival on Friday 21 June.
Fire-twirlers, LED adorned performers and artists, illuminated kayak performances from Showtime Kayaking, food trucks, music and roving entertainment kept punters enthralled on the shores at the Toronto live site while awaiting the arrival of the main fleet.
Lake Macquarie Mayor Kay Fraser selected Melinda and Mark Newman's 'Road Runner' design and Jonathan Vandervoot's 'Unicorn' as winners of Mayor's Choice Award in the five to metre and 10m plus categories respectively, taking home $400 apiece.
Mr Vandervoot said the Unicorn artwork adorning his vessel 'Jo-Ann' was inspired by family ties.
"The inspiration for the design was my four young grandchildren that like playing with and watching unicorns," he said.
Cr Fraser said it was tough to pick from so many outstanding entries.
"We had so many vibrant artworks and creative displays this year from our boaties all worthy of recognition, including participants hailing from as far as Canberra to take part in the fleet," she said.
The People's Choice Awards as voted by the public, saw almost 1000 votes decide first, second and third place. With Garry Knott's boat CatTiva taking out the top prize for a colourful Tugboat design.
Second place went to Megan Evans' 'Dino Party' on her boat Millewa and third was the Newmans' 'Road Runner' on board Mistique.
Saturday's festivities on the eastern side of the lake were cancelled due to weather concerns, with dangerous wind and swells forecast.
Two lucky 'People's Choice' voters were also awarded prizes; first place took home a Lake Macquarie Cruises family pass 'Lunch on the Lake Cruise' for two adults and two children valued at $199 while second place received a $100 Visa gift card.
Visit www.lakemac.com.au/floatyourboat to view the gallery of this year's fleet.
Float Your Boat is hosted by Empire Marina Lake Macquarie and supported by Commander Sponsor Newcastle Permanent, Admiral Sponsor Wangi District Workers Club and Captain Sponsor Belmont 16s Sailing Club.
The NSW Government provided $50,000 from the Open Streets Program to support onshore activities for Float Your Boat and this year's Fast and Loud Festival in October.
