In the Land of 10,000 Lakes, we trade our backyard hockey rinks in for flip-flops and pontoons around Memorial Day — splashing, swimming and enjoying every second of Minnesota summers. But data from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources shows that in 2023 alone, 42 drownings were reported and eight others drowned after various types of boating accidents.

“I think a lot of people think, ‘Well, I’m wearing a life jacket,’ or, ‘I’m going to be in shallow water,'” Linda McKee, an associate department director and director of aquatics at the University of Minnesota said.

The aquatics center was the host of the third annual Water Safety Festival, where around 700 kids and adults took free swim and dive lessons, did yoga on paddle boards and, in true Minnesota fashion, learned how to play underwater hockey.

McKee says the event is put on to help people of all ages get comfortable being around and, in the water, as well as help curb the number of accidents and fatalities on the water in Minnesota.

In that report by the DNR, 30% of victims reportedly couldn’t swim, but it wasn’t just kids who didn’t have the skill.

“There are a lot of adults who don’t know how to swim or who are scared of the water,” McKee said.

The report goes on to show that many adults didn’t know how to keep themselves above water, and that is one of the main reasons lessons that was on Sunday’s docket specifically for adults at the water safety festival.

“It’s just a way for adults to learn techniques for just how to feel comfortable,” McKee said. “You don’t have to become a competitive swimmer or diver or anything like that, but just learning how to feel safe around the water is so important.”

McKee added that Sunday’s event helps expose people to all the different ways people can enjoy the water and hopes it will help create a community in pools and lakes across the state.

“The only way to truly be safe is to have that base level of how to float, how to help yourself if you’ve fallen off a boat, off the dock,” she said.

“Yes, we want to keep the drowning number down, but mostly, we want to see more people in the water having fun and knowing what to do,” Ayanna Rakhu, CEO of Sankofa Swim International, said.