Worthington Windsurfing Regatta and Music Festival

The History:

The Worthington Windsurfing Regatta and Unvarnished Music Festival began in 1999. The festival consisted of a windsurfing competition during the day and live, free “unvarnished” music in the evening on the shore of Lake Okabena. The intent was to introduce a unique water sport focusing on our lake and to introduce the community to an unvarnished style of music.

The festival has been a big success, bringing surfers from throughout the world. We have had the honor of hosting 3 US National Windsurfing Championships in our 16 years of doing the festival, however the Regatta saw struggles on the music side. In order for the festival to sustain, the board of directors re-wrote the bylaws a few years ago to enable a different style of music. We removed the "unvarnished" requirement, enabling us to bring in different music. The intent was to bring in broader based music (and hopefully bring more people in to town) to purchase our beverages and possibly even spend the night or two. With the new music format, the Regatta has seen consecutive record crowds and overwhelming response.