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July 26th, 2008 - It's Official! That's right, even though I've retired the group from the FunOnTheFox.com website is taking over the party. The Swing Crew will once again be performing on top of the Pink Flamingo but I'll be assuming an advisory role so I can enjoy the party for once. Check out www.funonthefox.com for more info. July 21st, 2007, 128 boats camping overnight, 1070 boats by mid afternoon, sunshine, great music by The Swing Crew, great friends, and even a floating sand volleyball court! That's right, regulation size, 80,000 lbs of sand, all floating on top of the water! Man what a party!
My Official Resignation in 2007 after 15 years
I first want to thank all who both
attended and who helped out with throwing the party over the last 15
years and it’s been a great run. I can’t thank The Swing Crew enough
for playing all 15 years of it. It’s been a great 15 years, no
deaths, no major incidents (well maybe the port-a-potty going over
was major), and not a single rain date. I don’t know of a single
party that has that kind of record.
Introduction This page is dedicated to one of the greatest parties on the Chain-Of-Lakes in Northern Illinois. A special thanks to the wonderful band The Swing Crew (www.swingcrew.com) from Wisconsin Dells for allowing us the opportunity for them to perform at this party. And to Rodney for having the brain fart that started all of this. Like past years the start time should be sometime between 12:00 and 2:00. Nothing is guaranteed since the Pink Flamingo doesn't move fast and neither do we after the night of pre-partying. I'm not for sure yet but since the band is playing at Captain's Quarters Saturday Night I'm guessing if we do have rain we will just move the party there during the day also. For those of you who have made it to this party in the past you know how much fun it is. Nothing like watching the Swing Crew while in the water on a nice sunny day. Of coarse having chicks in bikinis (or not) and a Margarita from the gas-powered blender also helps out. And if your not worried about a few hours of memory loss you might want to try Amber's Rum Dumb. Just makes sure you don't start drinking them too early or you may miss the entire party (Shorty?). Best of all there are no bathroom lines to slow your drinking down. Click here for my long winded history of the party.
Donations Donations are greatly appreciated. FunOnTheFox.com is working on the t-shirts and donations so please click here to donate online.
Basic Party Rules 1.) 21 and over please. Some people get a bit crazy and it's not a good weekend for the kids at the sandbar. The police will likely have officers mixing in with the crowd looking for underage drinkers. 2.) NO GLASS! I can't stress this enough and I will personally kick anyone out of the party that I see with a glass bottle in the water. I'll also personally tell you that you are an IDIOT for having glass where people are walking around with their bare feet. I know 3 people who cut their feet in two weekends. No matter how careful you may think you are you are risking everyone's safety and the future of the sandbar. 3.) NO MOVING THE BUOYS OR PLACING BOATS BETWEEN THEM! The Lake County Marine Unit and FWA will be installing No Anchor Buoys to provide safety channels in case of emergency on Friday. There will be one channel running from the main lake to shore and another one teeing off that and running through the center of the party. Once these are placed we still need to allow 3 or 4 boat widths inside of them to not park boats in case the entire line of boats shifts some. If the buoys are moved at all the party will be shut down. If boats are inside of the buoys they will be both ticketed and towed and the party likely stopped until the lanes are cleared. 3.) Pick up your own trash and everyone else's. If the trash problems of past years persist the party will never happen again. If you feel something on the bottom pick it up even if it isn't yours and place it in one of the garbage bags on the back of the boats or in the trash boats we will have out there. If you're too lazy to walk over and throw your own garbage away when you are done with a beer then please don't bother coming to my party. 4.) No plastic Jell-O shots which just cause more trash. In the past there were plenty of Jell-O shots thrown out and some ended up on the bottom of the lake. Please make your Jell-O shots and in a pan and cut them into Jell-O squares which if they do get dropped will just end up melting away and not contribute to the trash problem.
More Info on the No Glass Jewel in Fox Lake was supposed
to start getting in things like Mike's Hard Lemonade and stuff in
plastic bottles.
Those of you who know me know that I try to stay out of the spotlight and below the radar as much as I can. But Lee Filas from the Daily Herald had hounded me to do a story on the party and I finally caved in. I think he did it just so he would be allowed to hang out on the Pink Flamingo for the party but honestly Lee does a great job covering the Chain of Lakes area for the newspaper. And it sure beats the last time my name was in the paper for underage drinking. Thanks again for the article Lee and click here to read the whole story.
Boat Parking All I can say is get there early. In 2006 I think there was 44 boats or something when I woke up in the morning. Thanks to everyone who saved us a spot as we came rolling in around 3 a.m. after Captain's Quarters. I can't save spots except for our houseboats that we need for the generators and stuff. Once again the Lake County Sheriff's Marine Division has been nice enough to request a no anchor channel through the sand bar for the day and buoys will be set out. I'll post a map here as soon as we determine the exact placement of them but it will likely be a channel coming in from the main water with a perpendicular channel running through the center of the party. 2005 worked out pretty well with the long rows of boats. Click here to see the picture. Please be considerate and bring plenty of fenders along with a buoy or fender tied to your anchor to mark where someone is going to trip over it. It's pretty much impossible to save spots for your friends that come late so tell them to get there early.
And here's a few party hints for those attending 1.) Either have your own boat, know somebody with a boat, or hope that you look really good in a bikini and can hitch a ride to the party. Spots on the Pink Flamingo are reserved like always and usually go to the veterans of the party. 3.) Beads are a good thing. A guy can never bring enough beads along. 4.) Suntan lotion is good. Being in the water for the duration of the party can cause severe sunburn. Your heads already going to hurt on Sunday, no use having a burnt back also. 5.) The party is not at the bar called the Sandbar. It's on Lake Petite at a real sandbar that just happens to be waist deep. Just enough to get the boats in yet still perfect for dancing and mingling. 6.) Gatorade is also another good thing. Although it dilutes your alcohol system it may help you make it through both the party and the remainder of the night at Captain's Quarters. Just because the band quits at 5:00 doesn't mean we have to. 7.) The buddy system helps in case you miss the boat after the party. The Captains are not responsible for making sure that you are on the boat. When the music stops the Pink Flamingo has to get the band back to land so they can get to Captain's Quarters to play their Saturday night gig. If you miss the boat it always helps to have a buddy to drink with and to help you find another ride back.
Click here for my long winded history of the party.
Stories and Pictures from the Party 1st Annual Party - 1992 - Lake Redstone, LaValle, Wisconsin 2nd Annual Party - 1993 - Lake Redstone, LaValle, Wisconsin 3rd Annual Party - 1994 - Lake Redstone, LaValle, Wisconsin 4th Annual Party - 1995 - Lake Redstone, LaValle, Wisconsin (After the port-a-potti incident and boat accident we figured we better lay low for a year and hide from the authorities) 5th Annual Party - July 12,1997 - Lake Petite, Fox Lake, Illinois 6th Annual Party - July 13, 1998 - Lake Petite, Fox Lake, Illinois 7th Annual Party - July 24,1999 - Lake Petite, Fox Lake, Illinois 8th Annual Party - July 15, 2000 - Lake Petite, Fox Lake, Illinois 9th Annual Party - July 14, 2001 - Lake Petite, Fox Lake, Illinois - Click Here for Pictures 10th Annual Party - July 13, 2002 - Lake Petite, Fox Lake, Illinois 11th Annual Party - July 12, 2003 - Lake Petite, Fox Lake, Illinois - Click Here for Pictures 12th Annual Party - July 17, 2004 - Lake
Petite, Fox Lake, Illinois - Click Here for Pictures 13th Annual Party - July 16, 2005 - Lake
Petite, Fox Lake, Illinois - Click Here for Pictures 14th Annual Party - July 15, 2006 - Lake
Petite, Fox Lake, Illinois 15th Annual Party - July 21, 2007 - Lake Petite,
Fox Lake, Illinois - Click Here for Pictures
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