Evan McClelland won Best of Show with his boat "Dairy Air" at the Dairy Farmers of Oregon Milk Carton Boat Race this month at Westmoreland Park Casting Pond in Sellwood, near Portland.
This is his second Best in Show, with an earlier win in 2010.
"We saw creative engineering and artistic spirit on the pond," says Pete Kent, Oregon Dairy Products Commission executive director. "The Milk Carton Boat Race is just one of many ways Oregon's dairy farm families connect with and support their local community."
The race returned to Portland in 2099 after a seven year hiatus. The classic Rose Festival event was revived by the DFO in celebration of June being National Dairy Month.
MILK CARTON SPEED: Milk carton race contestant like this one worked on construction the own personal boats then racing in a dairy industry sponsored event in Portland, Ore.
Boats must be creative and whimsical to enter the top Showboat classification. All participants also vied for the coveted Best in Show milk can trophy.
Race day brought a variety of dairy products to the park, including Darigold ice cream paired with root beet for floats. Bi-Mart, Portland Parks and Recreation, the Portland Rose Festival and Girl Scouts from Oregon and Washington participated in supporting the event.
"There is no better way to kick off summer and June dairy month than with excitement and creativity of the Milk Carton Boat Race," says Kent.
First place winners are:
Showboat Category (Larger than life boats): McClelland from Milwaukie, Ore.
Corporate Category (Companies and organizations): Colton Snook from Milwaukie.
Adult Category (13-years-old or older): Tad Winiecki from Vancouver, Wash.
Family multi rider boats (carrying more than a single person:: Josiah Adam and Zoe Winiecki from Vancouver.
Children's Race (ages 7-13):
McClelland also won this category.
The pond was filled with boats with names such as "The Land of Oz." Others were called "S.S. Darigold" and "Jug-R-Not." There were also "Hope it Floats," and "Neth Monster."
DFO is an program by the commission which works on behalf of 123,000 milk producers and processors. Oregon milk contributes $1 billion a year to Oregon's economy, the commission notes.