Float On

SAT 6/25
After the recent Midwestern monsoon season, area rivers are high, fast and furious. All the better for the Lecompton Access Float Trip on the Kansas River. The float trip, along 10 river miles from Lecompton to Lawrence, commemorates the newest public boat access point along the Kaw River corridor. The river now has more than 20 such points between its Junction City origin and its confluence with the Missouri River in Kansas City. Increased river access is largely the result of campaigning by Friends of the Kaw, a preservation group that keeps its eye on unofficial enemies of the Kaw. These would include, for example, sand dredgers, agricultural runoff and wastewater-treatment plants. (You don’t even have to be a canoer or kayaker to notice this problem; many folks have simply walked across Lawrence’s river bridge, only to be caught downwind of a foul and criminal odor.) Now float trippers can enjoy the cleanest Kansas River we’ve seen in years. Floaters meet Saturday at 11:45 a.m. at Riverfront Park (at the junctions of Highways 24, 40 and 59 in Lawrence) for transportation to the Lecompton access point. After a dedication ceremony (part of Lecompton Territorial Days), the trip begins. The $25 cost includes shuttle transportation; canoe rentals are first-come, first-served. For more information, call 913-963-3460. — Sarah Smarsh

Extreme Takeover
Tony Hawk brings his super friends on tour.

MON 6/27
Skateboarder Tony Hawk has invented more than 80 tricks, but his demeanor off the board is more mild than wild. He has his own line of skateboarding-inspired products and a series of video games, but he’s also been in a milk ad. Hawk needs all the calcium he can get, because his summer schedule involves seven weeks of the Boom Boom HuckJam, a touring bonanza of motocross riders, BMX bikers and skateboarders that Hawk founded to showcase these extreme athletes. It makes a local stop at Kemper Arena (1800 Genessee) Monday night. Hawk will skate, as will such heroes as Andy Macdonald, Lincoln Ueda and Sergie Ventura. The show starts at 7 p.m. Call 816-513-4000. — Rebecca Braverman