A Day at the Lake
Saturday, June 8, 2024 (Rain or Shine!)
11 am – 4 pm

Goodhue Boat Company, Blackwater, 400 Crazy Horse Drive, Moneta, Virginia

 

Smith Mountain Lake Association brings the SML community together to enjoy fun and interactive activities. This is a free event for people of all ages!

  • Free entry and free parking
  • Pet friendly (pets must be leashed)
  • Food trucks!

Interactive Events & Demonstrations

 

      • Tour a fire boat, meet the dive team, attend a boat docking clinic
      • Visit a buffer garden display and fish habitat demonstration area
      • Learn to monitor SML Water Quality on the Ferrum College science vessel
      • Let your kids have fun looking at bugs through a hand-lens or microscope
      • Join the Lakeside Scavenger Hunt
      • Stop by the EcoKids Activity Tent for a fun and interactive kid zone
      • Get ideas to manage pesky geese and invasive weeds
      • See a drone that monitors the water of SML

 

Free vessel safety check if you boat, jet ski or paddle to Goodhue Boat Company, Blackwater.

Plus raffles, prizes, and free stuff

Tentative Event Schedule

11:00 am Opening Celebration

11:00 am – 4:00 pm Docks, Exhibits, Booths, Boats  and Food Trucks Open
Lakeside Scavenger Hunt (all ages)
Lake Ranger Qualifying (ages 5+)
Kiddie Fishing (wee ones)
Vessel Safety Checks (if it floats, get it checked)
Find Freddy Prizes Awarded

11:15 am Announcement of New State Funding for SML

11:30 am – 2:30 pm Meet Joy Manning, 10X Women’s World Wakeboard Champion

1:00 pm – 1:45 pm Dock Like a Pro (in-water demonstration)

2:00 pm – 2:45 pm Dock Like a Pro

3:00 pm Raffle Winners Announced

Participating Groups

Bedford County Sheriff

Buffer Landscape Gardens

Carefree Boat Club

Coast Guard Auxiliary

Fish Habitat

Franklin County Marine Unit

Goodhue Boat Company, Blackwater

Invasive Weeds

Lake Quality Council

Save Our Streams

Sea Tow SML

Septic Systems

Smith Mountain Lake Marine Fire & Rescue

SML Sail and Power Squadron (ABC-SML)

Tri-County Lakes Commission (TLAC)

TLAC Wake Education Task Force

Vessel Pump Out Program

Virginia Department of Health (VDH)

Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR)

Virginia Tech

Water Safety Council

Water Quality Monitoring

Food Trucks With Tasty Eats for Purchase

Chick-fil-A

Dirty Water Dogs

Kona Ice

Las Tapatias

Find Freddy the Safety Duck!

Freddy the Safety Duck is hiding at many local businesses. Can you find him? Find Freddy and get a free prize!

Freddy will show up at many places around town, so check the SMLA Facebook page often for updated sightings!

Bring him to the SMLA booth at A Day At The Lake to claim your prize. (You also get to keep Freddy!)

Freddy the Safety Duck

Interactive Demonstrations

Aquatic Weeds
See a live demonstration of aquatic weeds, including invasive weeds you might find at SML.

Bedford County Sheriff’s Office
The Patrol Boat will be onsite between patrols and will be staffed with two officers. Deputies will talk about safe navigation on the lake and hiring opportunities with the department.

Boat Docking Clinic
Dock like a professional.This demonstration will show you how to dock your boat gracefully, without damage or panic.

Buffer Landscaping Demo Garden/Plant Auction
Visit a buffer landscaping demonstration garden. Talk with buffer landscaping experts about proper plant selection for your property. Learn why buffer gardens help the water quality of SML. Enter for a chance to win selected potted plants on display.

Bugs in the Streams
Save our Streams team members will introduce the critters who live in our streams. See these bugs up close through microscopes. Learn why SMLA collects, counts and identifies these inhabitants.

Coast Guard Auxiliary
Get boating safety information and learn what the Coast Guard Auxiliary does at SML. This a volunteer organization supports the United States Coast Guard (USCG). The mission is to promote boating safety and provide support to the Coast Guard in a wide range of non-law enforcement activities.

County of Franklin Marine Unit
The Office of the Sheriff, County of Franklin Marine Unit provides law enforcement services related to the navigable water of Smith Mountain Lake. This program includes lake patrols, responding to emergency calls for lake-related service, and educating the public about water safety practices.

EcoKids Fun Tent and Lakeside Scavenger Hunt
Visit the EcoKids Fun Tent for the Lakeside Scavenger Hunt with prizes. Enjoy activities like coloring pages, puzzles, kiddie fishing, stickers, and more!

Ferrum College Boat
Visit the Ferrum College Water Quality Monitoring Vessel. Find out how SMLA knows the lake is healthy. Have fun checking how clear the water is with various instruments. Learn more about SML’s Water Quality Monitoring program.

Fireboats
Tour a SML fireboat. This all-volunteer public safety organization responds to hundreds structure and boat fires, medical emergencies, watercraft collisions and boaters in distress each year. See how the Emergency Response Dive (ERD) team supports underwater search and recovery operations.

Fish Habitats
Check out the fish habitat structures that SMLA and DWR put into the lake to provide places for small fish to hide. See a map of the habitat locations.

Sea Tow SML
Stop by the Sea Tow booth and participate in water safety games for prizes.Attempt the timed life jacket challenge or try your hand at “Throw Don’t Go”.Snap a “Vest Friends 4 Ever” or “Kiss Me I’m a Sober Skipper” selfie.Enjoy a free root beer while they last.

Septic Smart
Information on why and how to be septic smart.

Tri-County Lakes Administrative Commission (TLAC)
TLAC is the administrative department for the four Virginia counties surrounding Smith Mountain Lake and Leesville Lake. Learn about TLAC’s Navigation and Environmental Committees, Adopt-a-Light/Adopt-a-Buoy program, Debris reporting, and Vessel Pump-Out program.

Vessel Pump Out Program (VPOP)
VPOP provides free dockside vessel sewage holding tank pump-out services. This program protects SML from potential human waste pollution.  This is a cooperative program offered by SMLA, TLAC, and VDH.

Virginia Department of Health (VDH)
The VDH Office of Environmental Health Services staff will discuss its marina programs including Clean Vessel, Smith Mountain Lake Pump-Out, and other environmental initiatives.

Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR)
Conservation Police Officers will provide promotional material, and answer boating, hunting, and fishing questions. The Virginia Conservation Police work to Conserve our natural resources, Connect people to Virginia’s outdoors, and Protect people and property through safe outdoor experiences.

Virginia Tech
Learn how drones are used for water monitoring.

Wake Education Task Force
Meet TLAC’s Wake Education Task Force.Chat with SML’s 10-time wakeboarding champion.Find out the best spots on SML for towed water sports.Understand the power of a wake and keeping your riders safe.Check out a wake boat.

Volunteer to Help!

If you would like to volunteer, provide your name and email below. We will be in touch!