Charleston man's queso lazy river dream to come true at Whirlin' Waters... kind of

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — In April, the Charleston County Parks & Recreation Commission (CCPRC) received an email from someone asking to turn the lazy river at Whirlin' Waters into "a queso cheese lazy river."

Charleston resident Hagan Ragland suggested "we could all just float in the river with a bag of chips and a long twisty straw and have the time of our lives with that sweet sweet queso."

Read More: Man asks to fill Whirlin' Waters lazy river with queso, CCPRC explains logistical issues

At the time, CCPRC turned him down, citing logistical challenges like the lack of nacho chips large enough to accommodate visitors and getting cheese-cloth to fit into drains and filters.

But now, they say Moe's Southwest Grill is helping them create something close to his dream- a float down the 870-foot winding lazy river at Wannamaker County Park with 100 tortilla chip floats.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think the beauty of a queso lazy river would have the slightest chance of existence, but boy, was I proved wrong,” said Ragland. “Not only did the Charleston County Parks team go out of its way to ‘let me down gently,’ now the team and Moe’s are going out of their way to share my fantasy with the entire community.”

The iconic event is scheduled for June 28. One hundred winners will get free entry to float down the lazy river on a life-size tortilla chip float and free Moe's queso for a year.

“After receiving Hagan’s initial email, I wanted the opportunity to meet him over a large bowl of queso, but this is even better,” said Nicholas Epps, the Charleston County Parks customer service representative who received Hagan's passionate request.

I mean, it’s really what queso is all about: bringing people together,' he said.

Fifty winners will be chosen to participate for free through a contest on Moe's social media. Each winner will get two tickets into the waterpark for the event, two free floats and a free cup of queso once a week for a year.

The contest can be entered on Moe's Instagram and Facebook pages. Winners will be announced on June 23.