Hobbs Brew Barge threw a fabulous all-day-and-late-into-the-night festival this weekend. It was the first occurrence of what we hope will become a new annual event here on the peninsula. Fun for everyone! They had a cool line-up of activities during the day and great musical performances in to the evening. Food, beverages, bounce houses, music and more. With Placencia’s Lobsterfest still 6 weeks away, it was perfect timing for a big local happening. If you missed it, check out this recap.
Hummingbird Sprint Kayak Race
How fun is this?! Like our own, saltwater, mini version of La Ruta Maya Race. This was a double seater kayak race from the Point to the Brew Barge. Hobbs put up some serious prize money and it was free to register so I just HAD to try. Me and Nina (you might know her from the Crepes & Churrios truck or now Flowers Property Management and PVFD fundraisers like the calendars or Floatchella) gave it a go. We’d never paddled together and rarely paddled on our own so we felt very confident in our ability to take this prize purse. With zero prep and no training… we did as well as anyone could have expected. I thought we were in dead last place but there was actually one team behind us.
I’m glad we did it though! The start was so fun- everyone bumper-boating in to each other. The course is short enough, only about 4 miles; so even though we struggled, we knew we could still finish. While our performance was mediocre at best, our friends faired much better. Dwayne Flowers and his brother, Garbo, paddle the Ruta Maya and though this is way different than a canoe race, they paddle really well together. Karl Kohlman and Aaron Krohn teamed up together and also kicked ass but ultimately the top prizes where all won by Splash Dive’s athletes (I heard they were ringers brought in from Cayo, winners of other paddling races).
Daytime Activities
Hobbs built an impressive stage in their athletic field and had music going all day and night. After the kayak race there was a 5-aside volleyball tournament. They also had a huge bounce house, a mechanical bull, and face painting. They drinks were flowing (I’ll tell you what- that craft beer goes down GOOD in the heat, after a kayak race, shoot!) and good food was everywhere. In addition to the Barge’s usual menu they had festival-y food too like BBQ, hudut, sausage wraps.
Nighttime Line-Up
Man, I really wanted to make it back for some of the music performances at night but it didn’t work out (Mitch was in a foul mood and began bickering with his friend so bad that we turned around at the airstrip). Every now and again when the wind was right I could hear a bit of bass all the way down in the village so I know it was rocking. They had a really spectacular fireworks display at midnight.
I’m so happy that Hobbs had this event and I hope it will become a yearly addition to our roster of local traditions. Maybe I’ll start training for the next Hummingbird Sprint! ( I won’t hahaha)
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