Tulsa's Great Raft Race Organizers Urging Early Registration

The organizers for Tulsa's Great Raft race are ready to make this year bigger and better than last year's event.

The original races ran from 1973 to 1991 and at its peak there were 600 rafts, 4,500 racers and more than 150,000 spectators.      

But this year, organizers need more people to register.

Last year, so many people tried to register for the race that organizers had to stop admitting people. That's why, this year, they say register now if you want in.

For nearly three decades, people built fancy, goofy, and downright odd rafts to traverse the river.

Usually with a drink in hand, rafters shoved off in Sand Springs and floated for eight miles down the Arkansas River to the River West Festival Park.

So far, there are more than 200 rafts registered, and many of them have taken the large raft spots.

Organizers are expecting this year's designs to be even wackier than years past.

Race director Seth Erkenbeck said, "The first year was kind of, kind of got the creative juices flowing. So I think, in this second year, we're going to see some really cool stuff."

Registration will run for about the next two weeks. It likely will end once the last spot is filled.

The race takes place on Labor Day, Monday September 5th.

You can find more information here.