h g i e w A s r o h c An
CHANNEL MARKERS - for the long run
Mooresville’s destination for fun on Lake Norman
at
Queens Landing
by Karel Bond Lucander | photography by Jamie Cowles
L to R: The Catawba Queen, an entree at Queens Landing Cafe, and the Lady of the Lake.
In 1992, Jack Williams and Bud Lancaster founded Queens Landing. Lancaster died before the dream materialized but Williams grew this waterfront parcel into a destination for fun. Williams passed away in 2016 and passed the torch onto his cousin, Debbie Boggs Harwell, now Queens Landing president and CEO, to keep it going strong. “Next year will mark 30 years of business and we have a lot of big, surprising changes coming,” she says. “In 2022, it will be what Jack always dreamed it to be!” Feel the wind in your hair as you roll across the waves on the Mississippi-style riverboat Catawba Queen. Or climb aboard the sleek 93-foot Lady of the Lake yacht and party on as you explore North Carolina’s largest man-made lake. Whether you take an evening dinner cruise, morning sightseeing tour or charter a special-occasion private ride, the opportunities for Queens Landing-style fun on Lake Norman are endless. Corporations secure these grand vessels for events, and others celebrate anniversaries or exchange wedding vows aboard them. “We have people coming from all over the world and also celebrities, many because we’re ‘Race City,’” Harwell says. “The president of Toyota Racing flew in from Japan and booked a private cruise. Another representative from a makeup company chartered a cruise for her top saleswomen. We’re small enough to make quick 18
LAKE NORMAN CURRENTS | JUNE 2021
decisions but large enough to get it done. We have this saying, ‘If you can think it up, we can make it happen.’” Head to Queens Landing Café for tasty “cruise fare,” like a salad, burger or pizza at Jack’s Grill and ice cream at Scoops by the Lake. Wet your whistle at one of the bars or the Tiki when concerts are rocking out at Melanie L. Williams Amphitheatre. Reserve a dinner at Pier 150. And then get back on the lake by renting a jet ski or pontoon at the floating dock. This summer, you can enjoy a fun NASCAR-themed Father’s Day event, pirate’s party for kids, “Death Ahoy” murder mystery, Hawaiian luau, gospel Sunday brunch, July 4th weekend celebration and more. Giving back has always been the Queens Landing way, so recently they offered free cruises for nurses. When Jack Williams died, he left Harwell a directive. “He left me the responsibility of taking Queens Landing forward and also to give $1 million each to the Shriners Hospitals for Children® in Greenville, the Fallston Baptist Church, and the Medical University of South Carolina for the Children’s Hospital and the Storm Eye Institute,” she says. “I got to spend $3 million in two weeks. It was a joy to be able to do that!” To learn more, visit queenslanding.com. 1459 River Highway, Mooresville. 704.663.2628.
