Photographs of the Green Lake Milk Carton Derby, July 1996

The Seattle Seafair festival, first held in 1950 – with boat races, community parades, royalty and stage shows – has been a part of the city’s cultural fabric for over six decades. Making its debut in 1972, Seafair's Milk Carton Derby is a whimsical boat race on Green Lake where all the boats have been constructed out of empty cartons.

The colorful milk carton boats of all shapes and design range from those carefully shaped for speed and stability to those designed for maximum amusement. The empty paper milk cartons or one gallon plastic jugs provides the primary flotation of these unique crafts The boat can have a plywood hull, but its primary means of flotation must be the milk cartons, and no engines or motors of any kind are allowed. According to official rules, the boats may be powered by oars, paddle wheels, wind or the human muscles of hands or legs.

Boat builders have used paraffin, contact cement, glue, duct tape, plastic netting, chicken wire, wood and string to fashion their crafts. Estimates suggest it takes about 25 half-gallon cartons to support 100 pounds of weight and the minimum of 50 milk cartons is required for each boat. From there, construction is up to the builders. There are no entry fees, and pre-registration is not required. The Derby is highlighted by a full day of “competition” as children, adults, families and businesses build milk carton watercraft for show and racing to compete on the waters of Green Lake for prizes and bragging rights.

The idea for a Milk Carton Derby was hatched when Arden Aegerter, the managing director of Seafair from 1967-1976, went to a conference of the International Festival Association Managers in 1971. At the conference, he heard about the successful Minneapolis Aqua-Tenial, a special kind of boat race where the boats had to be homemade, rely on empty milk cartons as their primary means of flotation and only use human power to propel the boats. Upon returning to Seattle, he discussed the idea with his Seafair staff, who grabbed it and slated a Milk Carton Derby for kick-off at the 1972 Seafair.

Securing the Washington State Dairy Association as a sponsor for the event was the first step in putting the Derby together. Placards advertising the "Green Lake Milk Carton Boat Race" were placed in milk sections of stores throughout the area. Soon after, Seattle’s drive-ins, restaurants, milk distributors, and trash bins were being raided as people stockpiled milk cartons in their garages or backyards to build their boats. Local television and both the Seattle Times and Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspapers were on hand to cover the first milk carton derby.

The excitement generated that first year has continued for over four decades. While many other Seafair events haven't survived the years, local residents still collect milk cartons throughout the year to float their imaginative water crafts. As of 2015, the Milk Carton Derby continues to be held annually in July on Green Lake as one of the opening events of the Seafair activities each summer.

Content for this article was derived from Matt Patneaude, "Meet the man who started the Green Lake milk carton derby." Jet City Maven, 2:8, August 2000. <http://parkprojects.com/2000news/0008aug/hstderby.html>; and newspaper articles from the Seattle Times and Seattle Post-Intelligencer.