http://occoquanwaterfront.com

Red Bull National Wake 2.0, a professional wakeboarding competition, will take place July 23rd at National Harbor. This very cool event will feature professional wakeboarders Brian Grubb and JD Webb, along with a crew of local riders. It seems that all-star Parks Bonifay will be M.I.A. from this year’s competition.

These tremendous water athletes will be flying off of custom made features built especially for National Harbor. Towed by Red Bull Waverunners, the riders will put on quite a show for National Harbor visitors. There will be a post event autograph signing and give-a-ways throughout the day.

Check out the Facebook page here and the official event page here.

When: Saturday, July 23, 2011 @ 11:00 AM – 5:30 PM
Where: National Harbor, Maryland

With Spring right around the corner, it’s time for the crazies to run into the freezing cold Potomac River. The 9th Annual Polar Plunge to benefit Virginia Special Olympics will take place on Saturday, February 26 at Tim’s Rivershore.

The river will be rocking with live music, contests, prizes and more! Visit Tim’s for more information.

On the first four Saturdays of October (weather permitting), Mayor Ernie Porta will be leading historic tours of Occoquan River by kayak and on foot.  The kayak tours will begin at 11:00 a.m. at Occoquan Regional Park (kayaks will be available for rent) and the walking tours will begin at 1:15 p.m. at the Mill House Museum.  Both tours will last approximately 45 minutes and are free, but donations will be accepted for the Prince William Red Cross’s Heroes Campaign.

Very cool event coming to National Harbor this week: a professional wakeboarding competition sponsored by Red Bull. Professional Wakeboarders Brian Grubb, Parks Bonifay, JD Webb, and Adam Errington will fly, soar and wow the crowd with wild airs and double overhead sprays of the Potomac River.

These tremendous water athletes will be flying off of custom made features built especially for National Harbor. Towed by Red Bull Waverunners, Grub, Bonifay, Webb and Errington, along with some local wakeboarders, will put on quite a show for National Harbor visitors.

When: Saturday, July 31, 2010 @ 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM
Where: National Harbor, Maryland

Here we go again! Price William Marina is hosting Aquapalooza 2010 in Washington DC, along the Potomac River. The location of the event has changed! This year, the merry mayhem will take place at Tim’s Rivershore in Dumfries, VA (AKA Tim’s I).

By road, access will be limited (you will have to shuttle to Tim’s from a parking area). By water, just pull on up! All of the fun’s on the water, so bring your beach towels, sunscreen, water and snacks! If you need to launch your boat, see this information. Here is the official event registration page.

One thing that isn’t changing this year is a country music headlining act. Matt Stillwell will take the stage at the peak of the party. Stillwell’s recent single “Drunk Enough” just reached #25 on the iTunes Country Album Chart. The rest of the musical line-up has yet to be announced.

Have fun, be safe, see you at Aquapalooza 2010!

** UPDATE ** Aquapalooza 2010 will be held on July 24th at Tim’s I in Dumfries.

There has been lots of speculation this year about whether or not Sea Ray and/or Prince William Marina would host Aquapalooza once again on the Potomac River (after lots of weather mayhem last year and the year before).

Turns out the answer is…YES! Aquapalooza 2010 is on, with a change in venue. This year the shenanigans will take place at Tim’s Rivershore (aka Tim’s I) in Dumfries, just a stone’s throw from Occoquan. I’ll post more details as they become available.

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It was freezing outside but that didn’t stop people from taking the plunge! All donations benefit the Special Olympics of Virginia.

Summer is officially over but the spirit must live on. This weekend features a classic battle between two events along the Potomac river. One is old, one is new. Both will probably be a good time. The conditions on the ground will be a little bit sloppy with rain on Saturday afternoon.

The 2009 Occoquan Fall Arts & Crafts Show begins on Saturday, September 26 at 10AM and runs through Sunday at 5PM. This is an all-ages event held twice per year in the streets of Occoquan. The fair of craftsmen and merchants is usually entertaining and crowded. Carnival food abounds. You can buy fried Oreos and shoelace french fries and then finish it off with a banana split. The craft show website has details.

Das Best Oktoberfest also takes place on Saturday 28 nautical miles north at National Harbor. The events runs from 2PM – 8PM on Saturday. The main attraction is “beer, brats & bands”. Tickets are $30 at the door and they include a souvenir tasting mug and 6 beer tokens. There is a beer belly competition and classic local band Love Seed Mama Jump will rock out on stage at 2PM.

This is a tough call but personally, I think Das Best Oktoberfest is the way to go. There are a couple of reasons why. First, shopping in the rain is a drag whereas drinking six german beers in the rain sounds like it could be fun. Also, National Harbor has excellent marina services. Its fairly easy to make a reservation and the staff is on point. One the other hand, there really is no way to reach the craft fair by boat. Perhaps the town should consider an effort to monetize the fallow Gas Light docks on craft fair weekends. Have a fun and safe weekend!

Prince William Marine is hosting Aquapalooza this year at Tim’s II at Fairview Beach on the Potomac River. I’m looking forward to a good party this year, albeit with a country twang. Headlining the Occoquan-Washington DC Aquapalooza this year will be country singer Daryle Singletary and Thunder 104.5 will be onsite broadcasting live.

Daryle Singletary is a crooner that topped the country charts with a few hits way back in 1995. In February 2009, Singletary released a new single, “Love You With the Lights On”. The single was the lead-off single to a new album, Rockin’ in the Country, released in June 2009. Give his new album a listen:

Here’s the rest of the musical line-up for the weekend: Key West Band, the Wild Bunch, Borrowed Time Band, Drivin’ South Band and the Darby Brothers. I haven’t seen any of these guys before, leave a comment if you know who they are.

The FAQ put together by PW Marine is full of helpful tips, if you have not attended Aquapalooza previously. Check out the map of Fairview Beach below. If you will be arriving by boat (the preferred method of transport), check out our nautical map of the Potomac River to chart your route.

Take your cameras, remember to take some pictures and send us your best, we’ll post them after the main event! We’ll be there partying it up, see you there!

AquaPalooza, the World’s Largest Boating Party, brought to you by Sea Ray, is right around the corner and ready to rock your summer! Boaters and non-boaters alike are invited to take a break and join us at the biggest bash on water – AquaPalooza 2009.

This year’s Signature Event, featuring country-music superstar Alan Jackson, runs from July 24th to 26th at Lake Martin, Alabama. The big event near Occoquan will take place at Tim’s II, along Fairview Beach.

Find your local event and register online at www.AquaPalooza.com today and receive two free t-shirts (while supplies last).

Don’t miss the biggest and best boating celebration of the year! I hope we see you on the water

Finally, the 80′s are back! The weather this weekend is going to be amazing. Time to de-winterize and fire up those engines! To get things started, the Potomac River Party Boaters Association is hosting the 2009 Spring Dust-Off this weekend!

Let’s meet up at Tim’s Rivershore around 2:00 on Saturday, April 25th. After everybody has had their fill of crawfish and bikini fuzz at Tim’s, we’ll cruise over to Mattawoman Creek for the evening, and stay until Sunday…whenever. RSVP on Facebook. All are welcome!

Polar Plunge 2009 will be held this Saturday at Tim’s Rivershore along the Potomac River. For the 16th year, this charity event will benefit Special Olympics Virginia. This is a crazy event where teams of people pay $100 to dive into an icy river and wade about 25′ towards a floating dock. There is a raucous party afterwards, of course.

In February, the Potomac is usually about 38 degrees fahrenheit. Ouch! Check out this flyer for more information about the plunge and how you can become freezin’ for a reason.

You should join the new Facebook group that we just set up! The mission of the Potomac River Party Boaters Association is to promote the tradition and sport of boating on the Potomac River every summer.

If you already have a Facebook account, join this group to identify and connect with some fun local boaters that you may or may not already know. We’ll be setting up meetups and uploading fun pictures and videos throughout the summer.

To kick things off, there will be a spring dust-off celebration during the afternoon of Saturday, April 25th (weather dependent). The plan is to start off at Tim’s Rivershore and then cruise over to Mattawoman creek for the evening or until Sunday. All are welcome.