University of Texas Austin - Cactus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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AQUAFEST Down by the River These raft-racers let the car do the racing. 24

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of what tt m ers wow ,-Briu Campus tours, such as this one on the steps of Gregory Gymnasium, helped new students avoid the classic freshman symptom: constantly clutching a map. w $ v OA Jack Jackson discusses the Plan II honors program with an orientee. Midnight prowl was the most popular feature of orientation. Orientation 23

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Fireworks light the shores of Town Lake during the Night Lighted Water Parade. here and when in Austin can W you work on your tan, witness ' the best in country, rock and Mexican entertainment and race a raft down the Colorado River all in one week? University students caught up in the perils of summer school found Town Lake was the place and August 5-14, 1983, the time to enjoy the 22nd Austin Aqua Festival, which brought water- sport competitions and musical enter- tainment to the third coast city. Ranked among the top 10 festivals in the nation, Aqua Fest expanded to 70 events, including ski tournaments, a Mexican market, raft races and parades. Organized in 1962, the Festival was sponsored by Austin businesses and run by an all-volunteer staff. Rusty Tally, Aqua Fest president, said, The festival strongly supports local charities not only with events, but with revenues from those events. KHFI-FM 98 and Budweiser cospon- sored the Great River Raft Race, which attracted over 3,000 participants in floating rent-a-cans, rubber rafts and helium-filled castles. UT students Larry Smith, Jim Nicar, and Roger Ludlow entered the race just for fun. We decided to enter because it was something different and we thought it would be fun to do before the summer was over, Smith said. Attracting a crowd of almost 50,000, the Night Lighted Water Parade and Fireworks Display featured floats on 40-foot-long barges. The parade was one I of the few in the nation that displayed j lighted floats on a body of water. Delia de Lafuente ABOVE: Group rowing helped this dragon float down the river to the finish. LEFT: Water EvenU included the Strohs Kawagaki Jet Ski Race July 30-31. Mexico ' s Grand Market became a Fest event. Aquafest 25