Fall Harbor Hop Attracts Late-Seasson Boaters
to Central Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks

LAKE OF THE OZARKS, MO. -- The boating season's winding down at the Lake of the Ozarks, but it's not quite over for participants in the 20th annual Fall Harbor Hop, coming up October 8-9.

"We're expecting a large turnout for the Harbor Hop. It's always a great way for us to extend the boating calendar and look back on a successful season," says Joel Pottinger, executive director of the Lake of the Ozarks Convention & Visitor Bureau.

The Harbor Hop is essentially a poker run, in which participants pick up playing cards at lakeside restaurants, bars and marinas along the Lake's Main Channel and its Big Niangua and Gravois arms. In addition to having fun, the object is to build a winning poker hand for a chance to win a prize. "Hoppers" can start their run at any of the 46 sponsors' checkpoints where they pay an optional $10 donation per seven-card hand and draw their first card. Six additional cards are drawn as boaters "hop" to more checkpoints. Players turn in their final hand where they draw the seventh and final card. There's no limit to the number of hands an individual may play.

The 10 winners who draw the best poker hands will be notified by mail after the event. Prizes also will be awarded for the four worst hands and for 11 randomly drawn hands. Donation totals will determine prize amounts. Prizes will be given in the form of gift certificates. "This gives the winners a great reason to return to the Lake and enjoy an off-season visit, maybe to dobsome Christmas shopping," says Marilyn Hartmann, membership coordinator for the Lake of the Ozarks Convention & Visitor Bureau.

The Harbor Hop runs from mid-morning to 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8, and from mid-morning to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 9.

The Fall Harbor Hop is always held the second weekend of October. It was created in 1985 by Randy Kelly of Kelly's Marina on behalf of the Lake of the Ozarks Marine Dealers Association as a way to attract visitors to the area in
the fall. As the event grew beyond its original size and scope, the Lake of the Ozarks CVB took over its management. The CVB also started a "sister hop," the Spring Harbor Hop, eight years ago. It's always held the first weekend
in May to kick off the boating season.

The Fall Harbor Hop is sponsored by Lake of the Ozarks Convention & Visitor Bureau, Lake of the Ozarks waterfront restaurants and the Lake of the Ozarks Marine Dealers Association.

"We keep in touch with everyone who ever has hopped, sending fliers and letting them know the dates of upcoming Harbor Hops," Hartmann says. "These efforts help produce a good response each time, as long as Mother Nature
cooperates."

For more information about the Harbor Hop plus other events, festivals, attractions, lodging and dining at Central Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks, contact the Lake of the Ozarks Convention & Visitor Bureau at 800-FUN-LAKE or visit www.funlake.com.

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