News

May 5, 2009

RiverFest will celebrate the Lackawanna

Times Leader staff

The Lackawanna River Corridor Association will celebrate the Lackawanna River and all it has to offer with its annual RiverFest on Saturday.

The celebration will feature a canoe-a-thon and duck-a-thon among other activities.

The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. along the flood control levee adjacent to the Olive Street Bridge near Scranton High School and the Ice Box Complex. Admission is free.

This year’s event is funded through grants from the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority and Lackawanna County Council on the Arts and Culture.

The canoe-a-thon is a timed race on the river from two Mid Valley launch sites – Maslyar Park in Archbald for a 12-mile run and Mellow Park in Blakely for an eight-mile run.

The LRCA will have rental canoes and kayaks available from Kittatiny Canoe Livery at the Blakely launch site. Advanced registration is required.

Paddlers can use their own boats from either launch site. If launching from Archbald, participants should have effective experience on Class 2 and Class 3 white water.

Canoeists are launched in heats of 10 canoes each at five-minute intervals from both launch sites beginning at 10 a.m. The race lasts approximately three hours. As in previous years, ribbons and medals will be awarded for first, second and third place finishers in seven categories for each of the two launch sites.

To register, call the LCRA at 347-6311, e-mail lrca@lrca.org or go to the Web site at www.lrca.org. Registration at each launch site will begin at 8 a.m. A shuttle bus will depart the finish line site at 8:30 a.m. for the launch sites.

The 12th annual Lackawanna River Duck-a-Thon will launch at 5 p.m. The first three ducks to cross the finish line at Olive Street will qualify tickets from which the winning entry will be made. Duck tickets are $5 or eight for $20 and are available from the LRCA and will be sold up until post time at RiverFest.

Musical entertainment will be provided beginning at noon. Other activities will include a Bounce House, face painting, fly fishing demonstrations, and the Bookmobile as well as food and other vendors. Susquehanna Kayak and Canoe will provide group kayak and canoe instructional tours for $25 for beginners.

There is no official Regatta this year, but anyone who wishes to assemble a flotation vessel with some imagination, creativity and a good sense of humor can approach a volunteer at the membership tent to sign up for a trip.

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