40th Anniversary of the 1000 Islands Kingston Poker Run – August 7-9, 2026

By Norm Rosen

More than 50 of the most spectacular performance boats in North America, with more than 200 crew members, joined us to celebrate the 40^th Annual 1000 Islands Poker Run, held August 7 – 9, 2026 on the St. Lawrence River, starting in the beautiful Confederation Basin in Kingston, with stops at Ivy Lea Village, Rockport, and Brockville, where we paused for lunch at the recently opened Blockhouse Island restaurant, before returning to Kingston for the final card stop and the Awards dinner at the Holiday Inn

SEE THIS PAGE FOR INTERESTING VIDEO AND STORY: https://hometowntv12.ca/2026/08/07/video-40th-annual-1000-islands-kingston-poker-run-making-annual-lunch-stop-in-brockville-this-saturday/

Our APRA sanctioned Poker Run started off with street displays and registration in front of Kingston City Hall, where thousands of visitors had the opportunity to see the boats on land, and in the water at Confederation Basin.

Throughout the evening on Friday, our visitors enjoyed boating action on the Jumbotron,,,

Our pace boat and card boat teams enjoyed a meeting and refreshments at Chuck’s Roadhouse, where details of the Saturday Poker Run were discussed.

Our 40^th Annual 1000 Islands Poker Run kicked off with a driver’s safety meeting on Saturday morning at the Delta Hotel, where Dave Bodner briefed the drivers and navigators on the route, the water conditions, and the safety aspects of the Poker Run.

Following the safety meeting, the crews headed for their boats in Confederation Basin, as spectators lined the docks for an up-close and personal viewing opportunity.

At 10:30 a.m., the Bill Taylor and Pat Bray started the Poker Runs America pace boat and led the fleet into the Kingston Harbour, where they assembled for the official declaration “ladies and gentlemen, start your engines!”

The Poker Runners put the throttle to the limit for a high speed pass to show fans on the shoreline and in the spectator fleet the thrill of performance boating, then throttled back for the speed zones on the way to Ivy Lea Village.

More than 40,000 spectators lined the route to watch the action, as the fleet put on a spectacular demonstration of the latest in performance boating technology.

As a special tribute to long-time Poker Runner, Bill Tomlinson, whose My Way 40 – foot Mystic cat held the speed record for many years, the Poker Run fleet gathered opposite his riverfront cottage to salute Bill, who has retired from his top performance boating career to enjoy a more relaxing boating lifestyle

Following this brief pause, the Poker Run fleet proceeded to the next card stop, where each crew picked up the second of five envelopes containing their Poker Run card.

“A Poker Run is not a race, it’s a game of chance and only the boat with the best poker hand wins. It’s all in the cards. Whether your boat exceeds 120 mph or 200 mph, speed has no bearing on the winner.” says Poker Run founder Bill Taylor,” A poker run is fun on the water with power to burn. It’s a few glorious days of performance boating at its finest and a chance to renew old acquaintances and make new friends. Each participating boat navigates a carefully charted course, stopping at five checkpoints along the route to pick up a sealed envelope containing a single playing card. At the final checkpoint, the envelopes are opened and the crew holding the best poker hand is declared the winner!”

While the weather proved to be a challenge as a thunderstorm blew through the region for about 30 minutes, the Poker Runners suited up with their rain gear and proceeded to the lunch stop at Brockville.

Our Poker Runners enjoyed a delicious meal at the newly opened Mirage Cove Waterfront Dining restaurant, where they relaxed prior to resuming the run.

Spectators lined the docks in Brockville to view the boats before the next start, heading back to Kingston.

The Poker Run fleet returned to Kingston’s Confederation Basin mid-afternoon, where spectators had another opportunity to see the boats up-close at the docks.

The evening festivities began at the Holiday Inn, where MC Dave Turnbull welcomed the Poker Runners, and acknowledged Co-Title sponsor Mercury Marine, and our many sponsors for the event.

The highlight of the evening was a very special presentation focusing on the 40^th Anniversary of the 1000 Islands Poker Run, celebrating the history of the event, the Hall of Fame Poker Runners, and the efforts of Bill and Marilyn Taylor, Melanie, Todd, and Tamara Taylor, and the Poker Runs Inc. team, including Norm Rosen and Pierre Savoie, who have devoted decades to the events, and crew members Giselle Bansal, whose artistic flair brings excitement to the magazines and live events, and editorial staff members.

The festivities continued with the induction of three new Poker Run Hall of Fame members…

The evening culminated with the Poker Run card reveal – where Dave Turnbull and Charlie Brown flipped each card hand and did a running commentary on the first, second, and third place hands.

Ride of a Lifetime…

Every year, our Poker Runners volunteer to provide a “ride of a lifetime” in support of local charities.

This is an ideal opportunity for spectators to step up and enjoy the thrill of performance boating, as we take them on a high-speed adventure on the water in exchange for a charitable donation.

This year’s Ride of a Lifetime supported Kinsmen Club of Kingston.