Welcome to the 68th annual Waterama celebration in Glenwood this week from July 25-28.

A little history

Now in its 68th year, Glenwood Waterama has been bringing family and friends together for generations. Founded in 1956, Waterama is a long-standing tradition for Glenwood and Pope County. During Waterama’s first year, organizers hoped to attract between five and ten thousand people to the festivities…and ended up hosting 23,000. Events for the first year included a Friday night button dance followed by seven events on Saturday, including a golf tournament, Kiddie Parade, swimming and boat races, a waterski show and the night pontoon parade. The 100-unit Grande Day parade was a feature from the very first Waterama, along with the coronation, fireworks and a coronation ball on Sunday night.

Each year, new events are added to the originals. A community church service was added in 1964, a mini marathon in 1974, and the first Minnewaska Showstoppers musical, South Pacific, was added in 1978. 

Today’s Waterama truly has something for everyone. In addition to the three parades, there are craft, car and waterski shows, street dances, medallion hunt clues, book sales and sand sculptures.  There are kid-friendly events in the park and sporting events for those who like to bike, swim, run, golf or play tennis, softball, volleyball, basketball, pickleball or soccer. 

The first couple of years, the event was held in August, but after organizers consulted the Farmer’s Almanac and discovered that the last weekend in July was historically the sunniest weekend of the summer with the least rain, the event was moved to that weekend.