How do you get reindeer antlers on a kayak?

How do you get reindeer antlers on a kayak?

We'll find out on Saturday, Dec. 13, when kayaks regaled in antlers, angel wings and Christmas lights will participate in the First Annual Kayakers 4 Kids Decorated Christmas Parade, a benefit for UC Davis Children's Hospital.

The kayaks, decorated like your next-door neighbor's front lawn, parade on the Sacramento River in a one-quarter-mile roundtrip circuit downstream from the boat launch of the Virgin Sturgeon Restaurant, 1577 Garden Highway, Sacramento.

"Being stuck in the hospital at Christmas is tough on anybody. But when we give them Christmas presents they get so excited. We know that it makes a big difference in their hospital stay."
— Carrie Muntz

Donations of new toys for children who are patients during the holidays will be collected on the Virgin Sturgeon's loading dock before the kayaks launch from the boat ramp. Toy collection will begin at 5:30 p.m. The kayak promenade will start at 6 p.m. and end about a half an hour afterward with a celebratory party in the restaurant.

Paddlers who would like to join the procession need only bring a decorated kayak, enthusiasm and a new unwrapped toy for children who are patients at UC Davis Children's Hospital.

Coordinated through the Children's Miracle Network, the event is the brain child of Tom Muntz and his wife, Carrie, who is a Children's Hospital nurse. The couple thought of the idea after friends described a similar event held on the Deschutes River in Bend, Ore.

"Our friends up in Oregon got some little Christmas trees and put lights on them and put them on their kayaks. We have a couple of yard-ornament reindeer, and we've switched them to battery-powered lights, so we thought, why not?" said Tom Muntz, a retired California Highway Patrol sergeant. "I admit, the decorating is going to take a little bit of ingenuity," he added.

Carrie Muntz, who is a post-anesthesia care nurse and has worked in the Children's Hospital for the past 27 years, said she knows well how much toys mean to children when they're hospitalized during the holidays.

"Being stuck in the hospital at Christmas is tough on anybody," Carrie Muntz said. "But when we give them Christmas presents they get so excited. We know that it makes a big difference in their hospital stay."

The Muntzes said they feared there might not be enough toys for children in the hospital this year because of the downturn in the economy.

"We thought maybe we could do something to add to the deficit," she said. Carrie Muntz said the Decorated Christmas Parade will take place in anything but severe weather.

The event is not intended for novice kayakers. Anyone who would like to attend the event, donate a toy, watch the parade and celebrate at the restaurant afterward is welcome to do so.

"If it's a beautiful night we may parade a couple of times," she said.

For more information about the Kayakers 4 Kids Decorated Christmas Parade, contact Tom and Carrie Muntz at 530-677-9617 or muntz@sbcglobal.net 

UC Davis Children's Hospital is the Sacramento region's only comprehensive hospital for children. From primary care offices to specialty and intensive care clinics, pediatric experts provide compassionate care to more than 100,000 children each year and conduct research on causes and improved treatments for conditions such as autism, asthma, obesity, cancer and birth defects. For more information, visit the UC Davis Children's Hospital Web site.