Article and Photos By Rhonda Moziy

Under a windy faded red and gold autumn day at Belmont Lake State Park, NACK once again performed for the youngsters and adults at The Great Jack-O-Lantern Sail.

On the Pre-Halloween Day of October 28^th, our kayaks were once again proudly displayed for a myriad of uses^.   The bright yellow prevailing kayak on wheels, was the star of the day, the one that got the most expenditure. Bob, Troy, and Chris were the main pull-tow chauffeurs of the famous NACK on-land kayak boat rides. The line of anxious riders grew as long as the fence surrounding the park. A whole year of gym membership for them was covered in less than 3 hours from the uncountable times of running in circles.

In another area, Steve and Roy operated the simulating kayak board rollers. The excitement of feeling what it’s like to be on a kayak was present on the faces of the older children and adults as they steered their way on dry land. Emery later brought out his Kayak Trainer machine to offer a different take on kayaking.

“Trick or Treat” you ask, well Pat and Rhonda safely guarded the bags of chips, popcorn, pretzels, Doritos and Dum Dum lollypops that were set up alongside our NACK brochures on the wooden picnic table nearby. As I handed out the snacks, Pat entertained children with snapping spiders and giving out spider rings.

Crowds of kids in costumes ran from place to place participating in the many other activities including a hay maze, a spooky den, a petting farm, ring-toss and craft booths. Frankenstein roamed around on big stilts. Nearby Babylon Volunteer Fire trucks gave tours and instruction on safety.

As the sun went down, a beautiful evening sunset sky came up. Crowds of kids and their parents lined the shoreline down by the boathouse. Park Rangers at Belmont Lake State Park carefully arranged all artfully carved pumpkins on individual small black square rafts and carefully connected them to NACK kayaks to be flickering gleaming exhibits.

Our dedicated NACKERS geared up for the Great Tow. One by one, kayakers took off with pumpkins illuminating the night while onlookers cheered. The pumpkins were methodically displayed as they circled the lake for all to see.

All eight kayak towers, John, Bob, Chris, Emery, Troy, Roy, Buddy and Jonathan came safely back. The eager owners of the pumpkins waited patiently to claim their carved masterpieces. The evening came to a close with our smiles speaking the pleasures of the magnanimous work of the day. Once again, we can’t wait to do it all again next year.

Additional Photos