Tulsa's River West Park Welcomes Back Raft Race After 5-Year Hiatus

People lined up along River West Festival Park to watch the rafts come through and cheer on the racers. They said it was a lot of fun to see everyone's hard work on display.

Related: Tulsa Great Raft Race Sets Off After 5-Year Hiatus

This is the first raft race in five years. People said it is amazing to see this activity back in Tulsa, and it was the perfect way to spend their holiday.

While racers steered their homemade vessels toward the finish line, crowds on shore at River West Festival Park only had to work on their cheers.

"Everybody's having a great time. We're just watching the rafts come in and out. We've seen a lot of cool rafts, actually—a lot more than I thought there'd be. I didn't realize it was such a big thing," said Parker Patterson, who was waiting for his dad's raft to come sailing by.

"It was funny. I couldn't tell if he was actually going to make it or if he was going to fall back into the water or not," Patterson said.

Patterson and some family friends agreed that the perfect weather, music, and atmosphere made the day worthwhile.

"A lot of times, there's not too much stuff going on out here. To see a big ol' festival like this is pretty cool. Come out on a great day and just watch some rafts go through," Patterson said.

Closer to the water, spectators of all ages got an up-close view of the rafts.

The Jeepers Anonymous group was waiting to see a familiar raft come by.

"It looks like a Jeep, actually. It has the Jeep front on it, some banners on the sides, and looks like a pontoon boat," said Miracle McMillen, who was there to support her friends racing for the first time in five years.

"I know they've been working on it for the past couple of months getting it rebuilt. We used it the last time they had the raft race," McMillen added.

Racers took a little longer than expected to get across the finish line, with some saying the water was a bit choppier than they had anticipated.