Crowds flock to Champ Day

Aug. 8—PORT HENRY — On Champ Day Saturday, everybody was a believer.

Legendary lake monster Champ, which is said to roam the waters of Lake Champlain — specifically in the Port Henry area — is a beloved folklore by many local community members.

Annually, a celebration at Port Henry Beach, dubbed Champ Day, takes place to honor the legend.

Champ Day Chair Andrea Anesi, who has chaired the festival for three years now, said it takes many months to put the event together.

"It's a lot of work," she said in between festivities Saturday.

"We take a little bit of a break after Champ Day, but usually by January we start really working on all the stuff we need to do."

By noon, Anesi said she was happy with the turnout so far.

"Last year, we estimated that we had around 500 people (attend), so we kind of planned accordingly in the hope that we would get more people (this year). We won't really know until afterwards, but it's been pretty constant since 10 a.m. this morning with people coming in and out," she said.

"It seems like people are having fun and that's exactly what we want."

Saturday's event, which ran from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., featured cryptozoologist experts, authors, vendors, food trucks and Champ-themed kids activities.

CARDBOARD BOAT RACE

One popular Champ Day activity, the cardboard boat race, where participants are tasked with building a boat out of cardboard, has become a tradition during the celebration.

Tim Bryant, the organizer of the race, said he had seen it done in other places and wanted to bring it to Champ Day.

"We go in the water, waist deep or so, depending on how old they are, hold a rope and they're supposed to try to paddle to it and come back," he said.

"And it's easy to organize — just get a truck load of cardboard, a box of tape and something to cut it with and they do the rest."

There were four age groups that participated: under 5 years old; 5-7 year olds; 8-9 year olds; and 11-13 year olds.

About 22 children and 12 boats raced in total, Bryant said.

"Kids have fun; there's no cell phones, they're working with their parents or their older brothers or sisters for an hour and a half and are pretty engaged," he said.

"It's not often that kids and adults are that involved for an hour and a half; that's the big thing."

All participants were treated with a free ice cream from Mr. Ding a Ling, but winners were given free crepes from Bryant's restaurant, the Red Brick Cafe.

Author of the children's book, "Champ: The Little Plesiosaur," Pam Lemza Putnam was in attendance for Champ Day, selling her book and several handmade Champ items.

Her book, she said, is a collection of stories she heard around town over the years.

"I went around and took photos around the lake...and I did water colors and then merged them together in a software program on the computer and wrote the book," Lemza Putnam said.

"I think growing up here, back in the 70s and 80s — the '70s for sure — there were a lot more sightings. Now, I have four granddaughters...for us, today is really about having the girls enjoy it, just getting out and really having fun here, celebrating Champ."

CHAMP FEST

Down the road from Champ Day, was "Champ Fest," a newly-formed celebration from "Water Horse of Lake Champlain: The Search" author, and head of the organization Champ Search, Katy Elizabeth.

Elizabeth claims to have seen Champ, or "Champs," on Lake Champlain and routinely scours the lake in pursuit of gathering more evidence of their existence.

"I came up here in 2012, and had my first sighting on my second day here, so it was amazing it was one of the strangest things I never expected to see anything," she said.

"The idea of Champ being this 100-foot-long silly monster type of thing is bogus, their average size is 25 to 35 feet...they're funny looking things. I believe they're an ancient reptile.

"They got a horse-like head, but they have these weird horn-like protrusions on top of the head...I don't know what their for, I don't know if it indicates sex, or if its for echolocation."

Even if she does prove Champ's existence, Elizabeth said she will continue to follow and study the creature as much as she can.

"I'm actually all about conservation of the lake and the species," she said.

"It's just like whales — it's a lifetime study. It's not just the end of it. You have to find where they go to breed, where they go in the wintertime; I think they go into a hibernation-like state as well. There's a lot to learn about them."

Email: cnewton@pressrepublican.com

Twitter: CarlySNewton