Sunday’s Winnipalooza celebrates Chamber, Irwin Marine centennials

LACONIA — Hundreds of people are expected to converge on Paugus Bay — by car and by boat — for Sunday’s Winnipalooza to celebrate the 100th anniversary of both Irwin Marine and the Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce.

Chamber President Karmen Gifford said upward of 700 people are expected for the event, which reached its attendance capacity earlier this week and is no longer taking registrations. The Margate Resort on Paugus Bay will be hosting the event.

“This is one more event to celebrate the Lakes Region as a place to work and play,” Gifford said, “and we’re excited to be partnering with a local business for this appreciation event.”

The celebration honors the history of one of the Lakes Region’s iconic businesses. Irwin Marine is a third-generation, family-owned-and-operated marine business that was founded in 1919 by Jim Irwin Sr.

The legacy of Irwin Marine began 100 years ago with a couple of boat slips in Weirs Beach on Lake Winnipesaukee. Jack Irwin, son of Irwin Marine founder Jim Irwin, recently remarked that “1919 was when my dad became very active in the boat business.” This summer, the Lakes Region is honoring how the Irwin family shaped the culture of the area and became one of the foremost names in New England boating.

Today, in addition to Jack Irwin, Irwin’s leadership team consists of Bill Irwin, John Irwin, and Bruce Wright.

Gifford noted that in addition to founding Irwin Marine, Jim Irwin Sr. was also one of the pioneering figures of what today is the Lakes Region Chamber.

“He was a visionary,” she said.

The Chamber’s Irwin Award for Outstanding Community Service is named in his honor. Since 1964, when a group of area business people gathered at the former Laconia Tavern hotel to honor Jim Irwin for his service, the Irwin Award has gone to an area person who best exemplifies the qualities of community leadership and service.

The event is a way for the Chamber to show appreciation to its members, Gifford said, and for Irwin Marine to extend its gratitude to its vendors, and family and friends, which includes the many customers of the business, said Bill Irwin.

The event will feature a barbecue on the Margate’s west lawn, boat rides, rafting, lawn games, raffles, prizes and giveaways. Preregistered guests can come by car or boat and enjoy live music by Wyld Nightz Band in the Margate Pavilion.

Attendees who come be boat will nest their boats just offshore. Shuttle boats will ferry those people to the Margate grounds where they can partake in the festivities.

Winnipalooza is patterned after AquaPalooza a one-day, on-the-water boat party, co-hosted by Irwin’s and Sea Ray boats, held every year in the early 2000s on Paugus Bay, Bill Irwin said.

But with the attendance at Sunday’s Winnipalooza projected at being just more than 700, the turnout will be much greater than at any AquaPalooza, Gifford noted.