The
9th Annual Buffalo River Fest will be on Friday, June 19th from 6PM to midnight, and on and Saturday, June 20th, from 9AM to midnight, supported by the Valley Community
Association. The 2-day event will take place in Father Conway Park and will include many highlights and a
lot of entertainment for all ages!
Members
of the Valley Community Association have dedicated the Buffalo River Fest to
the revival of the river and to acknowledge its exciting past, especially after bouncing back from the pollution the river endured. They say the fest is to influence appreciation of the river and its beauty, and to alert them to this wonderful park. In other words, the River Fest celebrates the renaissance of the river.
Events include “The Rigidized Metals River Regatta,” taking place on
Saturday the 20th. There will be
different categories including, canoe, kayak and “float your boat”. The canoe and kayak runs involve a 6-mile race starting from Harlem at Clinton. “Float your boat” is a 3-mile run from the Smith Street Pocket Park at the foot of
Smith Street. Both sites will
launch at 11AM, with a 10AM check-in and registration time.
There will be prizes in all categories, including a prize in “float your boat” for of the “Most
Creative Seaworthy Vessel” with cash for the winner and runner up.
For those who want to self-tour on the water, there is an urban canoe trail, with markers located throughout the river denoting historic landmarks. The trail launches at Harlem Road.
Popular
Western New York’s top bands and entertainers will be at the event both days, starting at 8PM on Friday and noon on Saturday. They include Hit N Run, C&D Sounds, Large Marvin, Bill
LaRusch and Urban Renewel.
Everyone’s
favorite fair game, “I Got It!” will also be running all night Friday and all
day long Saturday with great prizes as well. From 4PM to 8PM on Saturday, there will also be a stellar
car show featuring some of the classics all the way back to 1900 to today. Continuing with the action-packed
Saturday, the men’s Slow Pitch Softball Tournament will start at 9AM and
continue all day.
A
tent will also be up sporting waterfront photos, artifacts and memorabilia from
Buffalo Waterfront’s Glory Days from 6PM to 10PM Friday night and noon to 10PM
on Saturday. Tug Captain Vic
Noonan will give a special presentation about the famous river and lake disasters
on Saturday from 12:30PM to 2:30PM.
Noonan had been a tug boat captain for nearly 40 years and has witnessed
many things first hand. Some
disasters on the lake saw tug boats meeting their demise, and there was also an oil tanker incident, which Noonan will discuss.
Also
on Saturday is the kids fishing contest, from 10AM to noon at the Ohio Street canoe launch.
Prizes will be given out to kids with the biggest fish in each age
category.
Food and refreshments will
also be sold at the event, so come with an appetite for all of your favorite summer staples. All proceeds of the event will benefit
the Valley Community Association, which is a non-profit United Way agency to
serve he Buffalo River Community.