WSFA 12 News Montgomery, AL |Big star coming to Aquapalooza

Big star coming to Aquapalooza

Written by: Jennifer Oravet - bio | email
Posted by: John Shryock - bio | email

KOWALIGA, AL (WSFA) - Country music's finest will be jamming out on Lake Martin this weekend during the 4th annual Aquapalooza.

Artist Alan Jackson will be the signature act on Saturday, a performance that's expected to bring in at least 5,000 boats to Children's Harbor marina.

Jackson's big name has the small Lake Martin town moving at warp speed. From the restaurants to the marina the Aquapalooza is all the buzz.

"Everybody's asking us if they can get like special reservations..." says Summer Peoples of Catherine's Place, a local restaurant.  

Now the marina is prepping for the big party. While most festivals are held on land this one is designed for water.

"Aquapalooza is an event that was started four years ago to get people on their boats in the water, to have fun," site manager Robert Gunn says. More than 20,000 people scattered across 5,000 boats are expected to do just that this weekend.

All those people means the marine police will play an intergal role in the festival. The police will have extra officers and extra boats on the water starting Friday. They'll also ramp up patrols.

Right now workers are focused on building Alan Jackson's water-front stage, a dancing dock and making the area from the Kowaliga Bridge to Governor's Island a no wake zone.

Folks can start mooring to the bouies Friday at 2pm. Gunn says folks can leave their boats on and be shuttled back on Saturday.

Everyone else is dropping what they are doing to cater for county music royalty. People's says the Alan Jackson special will include lots of desserts and burgers.

Saturday's entertainment kicks off at 11am and it all leads up to Jackson's performance at 6pm. He's expected to play until 7:30pm giving the boaters time to get home before the sun sets.

NOTE: If you are going out to Aquapalooza PLEASE double check the number of life preservers on board and test lights before heading out!

Also, The Alabama Dept. of Transportation is expecting extremely heavy traffic on State Highway 63 to the event. Message boards are being put up along the route and caution is advised.

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