LakeFest 2023

THE must-attend annual fly-in event for Lake Amphibian enthusiasts

The next LakeFest gathering will be returning to its roots, at River Ranch in central Florida.  The spring convocation is scheduled for April 2^nd-5^th, 2023, and timed to immediately follow the annual spring break for pilots at Sun ‘N Fun in Lakeland.  Our event will start on the Sunday evening, with the traditional banquet, and will wrap up following the perennial favorite maintenance seminar with lunch at Amphibians Plus on Wednesday.  The agenda for Monday and Tuesday is a still a work-in-progress, and will be published when there is a little more meat on the bone; but it will follow our traditional format of morning seminar sessions, with afternoons available for local flyouts or recurrent training with the Lake-CFI’s attending.  Hopefully, there will also be some evening entertainment!

River Ranch (2RR) is located 40 miles south of Orlando International (KMCO), and boasts a 5000’ asphalt runway.  The resort offers a wide variety of accommodations, and we have secured an initial block of rooms that will provide a range of choices for attendees; this includes campsites and RV spaces.  The room rates are available for the Wednesday/Thursday nights before our event (subject to availability), so those wanting to attend Sun ‘N Fun might want consider basing themselves at River Ranch and flying to Sun ‘N Fun daily. Friday/Saturday nights will be available at regular resort rates.  Reservations may be made by using the exclusive booking link: https://resort.to/LACFI , or by calling the resort at (877) 502-7058 or (407) 355-2690, and asking to book under the group code 60-824.  They will ask for a one-night’s deposit at the time of reservation, and our contract will have a cancelation clause that is more liberal for members than their standard, to allow for weather and mechanical issues.

For those unfamiliar with the resort, check their website at: https://www.westgateresorts.com/hotels/florida/river-ranch/westgate-river-ranch-resort/ , which will also show more information on all their accommodation types.  Most of our activities will be centered on the Longhorn Center, except for a BBQ on Tuesday night in the East Corral, and breakfast on Monday in the Great Hall.  A golf cart shuttle will be available to assist folks getting to/from their planes with baggage – details on how to “call a cart” will be published closer to the event.

Marc is working on a list of fly-out destinations for lunch, and that will be published closer to the event.

The registration fee for the event includes the banquet and the BBQ dinners, as well as breakfast all three days.  Prices are as follows: couple – $250; single – $150; additional attendees – $125; children aged 3-12 – $75; children under age 3 – free.  Please register for the event as soon as possible so that we can get the best possible idea of attendance.  All registration fees paid to the club are 100% refundable.  Scroll down to start the registration process.