Tulsa's Great Raft Race is a hit in Sand Springs (Photo-gallery)

By: Scott Emigh, Sandite Pride Editor

Thousands of viewers and participants showed up to Sand Springs today to witness the grand revival of the Great Raft Race which began launching from River City Parks at 8AM. By 9AM the Northbound bridge was completely packed with spectators and the Police barricaded off a whole lane of the Southbound bridge to open it up for pedestrians. 

Registration was completely sold out for the event which is sure to be a recurring smash hit in future years considering the excellent turnout this year. The eight-mile float was expected to take several hours to complete, with an expected 5PM end-time. If you missed the morning launches, there's still plenty of time to get to the 11th street bridge or the finish line at the River West Festival Park to see all the creative floats. Westport on the River Apartments has seating for a few hundred set up, and there will be food trucks and vendors at the Michelob Ultra after-party. 

The original Great Raft Race was sponsored by KRMG from its debut in 1973 till its demise in 1990. More than 500 participants are floating this year, and dozens of businesses have expressed interest in joining it next year.