HARVEYS LAKE — Let’s say you have a grubby old drop cloth. If it’s ragged, so much the better.

The ideal way to recycle it, as the Sebolka family of Harveys Lake has discovered, is to use it as the roof of your “Flintstone Mobile.”

“I don’t go out (in the water) on this at all. I just build it,” dad David Sebolka said as his 18-year-old daughter, Allyson, and 15-year-old son, Michael, added the drop cloth to a conveyance that strangely resembles the car Fred Flintstone drives through the fictional town of Bedrock.

With 55-gallon plastic drums and two large blocks of Styrofoam helping the “Flintstone Mobile” stay seaworthy, the kids and some of their friends intend to ride it at the “Anything Floats” race, set for 2 p.m. July 25 at Sandy Beach.

That race is one of many activities planned for this weekend’s Lake Fest at Harveys Lake, an annual celebration that used to be called the Harveys Lake Homecoming. As committee members Lori Kucewicz and Karen Sebolka explained, organizers have changed the name to stress that everyone is welcome. It doesn’t matter if you’ve ever lived at the lake.

For at least the past 10 years, Lake Fest chairman Mike Rush said, the weekend-long celebration has coincided with a walkathon held to benefit Candy’s Place, a Cancer Wellness Center, in Forty Fort. As of this year, the walkathon has expanded to include cyclists and runners, too. The Harveys Lake Bike/Run/Walk, or BRWalk, begins at 10 a.m. July 25, with registration starting at 9 a.m., at the Lake-Noxen Elementary School on West Point Avenue.

The BRWalk will stagger the starting points for each group of participants by a few minutes, with cyclists leaving first, followed by runners and walkers. As of Tuesday, 300 people were already preregistered, said Chris Ostroski, director of Candy’s Place. (Call 570-714-8800 to sign up.)

Anyone who wants to participate but thinks he or she might not be able to complete the 9-mile distance around the lake can rest easy, she said. “Our board members will be driving around the lake and picking up anyone who wants a ride.”

Another option is to ride a hay wagon pulled by a tractor, Ostroski said.

Lake Fest begins July 24 with a dinner dance (reservations were due earlier this week). By 10 a.m. July 25, a bounce park and children’s games will be set up. The David Blight Dancers and Singers will perform at 10:45 a.m. and Miss Northeast Pennsylvania Cassie Cerulli will teach children’s dance moves at 11:30 a.m.

Music, the “Anything Floats” race and a Bow Wow Beauty Show round out Saturday’s activities.

Sunday’s activities begin at 9 a.m. with a kayak regatta at Sunset Beach, a yoga demonstration and a kayak race. At 11 a.m. there will be a presentation with live eagles, followed by a Lake Fest proclamation at noon, Harveys Lake Line Dancers at 1 p.m., a Lakeside Parade at 2 p.m. and music from Don Shappelle & the Pickups from 2 to 5 p.m.

Lake Fest serves as a fund-raiser for Harveys Lake, Rush said, with proceeds to benefit the police and fire departments as well as holiday parties for children.

IF YOU GO

What: Lake Fest at Harveys Lake

Where: Harveys Lake Beach Club, Pole 187, Lakeside Drive, Harveys Lake

When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. July 25 and 26 (Reservations already closed for July 24 dinner dance.)

Info: 570-639-3300

Note: Harveys Lake Bike/Run/Walk stars at 10 a.m. July 25 at Lake-Noxen Elementary School, West Point Avenue, Harveys Lake.

Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570-991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT

By Mary Therese Biebel

mbiebel@timesleader.com

‘Miss Harveys Lake’ Allyson Sebolka poses on her family’s ‘Flintstone Mobile,’ which she expects to help paddle during the ‘Anything Floats’ race set for 2 p.m. Saturday at Harveys Lake.
http://www.theweekender.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_lakefest03.jpg.optimal.jpg‘Miss Harveys Lake’ Allyson Sebolka poses on her family’s ‘Flintstone Mobile,’ which she expects to help paddle during the ‘Anything Floats’ race set for 2 p.m. Saturday at Harveys Lake. Pete G. Wilcox|Times Leader

The poles that will hold the roof of the ‘Flintstone Mobile’ are tree branches members of the Sebolka family found in their backyard, 15-year-old Michael Sebolka explained. Their entry will face other unusual watercraft in an ‘Anything Floats’ race that is part of Lake Fest at Harveys Lake.
http://www.theweekender.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_lakefest02.jpg.optimal.jpgThe poles that will hold the roof of the ‘Flintstone Mobile’ are tree branches members of the Sebolka family found in their backyard, 15-year-old Michael Sebolka explained. Their entry will face other unusual watercraft in an ‘Anything Floats’ race that is part of Lake Fest at Harveys Lake. Pete G. Wilcox|Times Leader

The Lake Fest committee has been working diligently to plan three days of fun at Harveys Lake.
http://www.theweekender.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_lakefest01.jpg.optimal.jpgThe Lake Fest committee has been working diligently to plan three days of fun at Harveys Lake. Pete G. Wilcox|Times Leader