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ALTON - The Alton Marina will celebrate its 28th anniversary with a Margaritaville-themed party.
From 7–10 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, community members are invited to the free celebration at the marina, located at #1 Henry Street in Alton. Mark Klose and the Klose Kuarters Band will play, and Ole Morales Tacos will be onsite to offer “the original Alton tacos,” said Rob Honke, the marina’s general manager.
“Everybody come down,” Honke said. “It doesn’t cost you anything to get in. Pop by the riverfront for the Food Truck Festival and then take a walk down and hang out with us. Save some room for Morales Tacos and a few cocktails.”
Attendees can enjoy drink specials and merchandise giveaways throughout the night. The marina is also offering a special buy-one-get-one dockage deal in the week between the party and Labor Day weekend.
The Alton Amphitheater is hosting the Food Truck Festival on Aug. 24, and Honke encourages people to stop by the festival before coming to the marina for the free party. Golf cart rides will be available to and from the harbor.
“We’re going to have some good margaritas up top. We’ll have the bar up top,” Honke said, adding, “I couldn’t do it without my crew. I’ve got the best crew you could ask for right now.”
Honke also noted that boaters on the Great American Loop will be stopping in Alton in the coming weeks. This loop takes boaters through America by traveling down the East Coast and up the Mississippi River. Honke enjoys talking with the “transient” boaters as well as the marina’s regulars.
“You get to meet people from all over the world,” he said. “We get a lot of transient traffic through there, especially between now and the end of November. We’ll see 3–400 different boats from all over the country and all over the world.”
As the marina gears up for increased traffic, Honke is also looking ahead to next year and the maintenance that will be completed in coming months. They plan to replace the exposed portions of the deck with lightweight concrete designed for harbors. He hopes this project will be finished by next July.
“One of the first things that I noticed when I was awarded the contract was there was a lot of deferred maintenance there,” Honke explained. “One of the biggest issues we have is, a lot of that decking that’s exposed is very old. Some of it’s even original, and it’s starting to fail. And we don’t want to have a lot of claims or injuries down there, so we started looking into different materials that we could replace that with.”
For more information about the marina, their projects and their deals, visit their official website at AltonMarina.com. You can also check out their Facebook page to learn more about the marina’s party. No tickets or reservations are required. Honke hopes to see many people come by the marina for the 28th anniversary party.
“It doesn't cost anything to attend,” Honke added. “The only thing that’s going to cost you anything is drinks and food. I’ll spend some money on that for sure.”
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