Kayakers pass under the Pierce Street Bridge during a previous RiverFest. This year’s event is set for July 30-31.
Times Leader File Photo
Paddling trips just one highlight of event
After taking a break because of COVID-19 last year, RiverFest is back.
Members of Wilkes-Barre’s Riverfront Parks Committee want the public to know they’re invited to visit Nesbitt Park, near the Pierce Street Bridge, on Saturday, July 31.
From noon to 5 p.m. that day the area will be home to environmental education displays, the Wilkes-Barre YMCA’s “Imagination Playground,” musical performances and a kids’ chalk mural that organizer John Maday describes as “like a big coloring book. Artist Jan Lokuta will have the outline drawn, and kids can fill it in with chalk.”
And, for people who would like to get their feet — or at least their paddles — wet, and more fully experience the Susquehanna River, RiverFest includes two paddling adventures.
A Friday, July 30 trip from West Pittston to Nesbitt Park is planned for 4 to 7 p.m. And it will bring people back to the Riverfront Parks area in time to enjoy at least part of a Rockin’ The River concert featuring the music of The Nude Party and Fife & Drom.
A longer trip, from Harding to Nesbitt Park, is planned for Saturday, July 31 from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. That trip should bring participants to the Riverfront Parks with plenty of time to enjoy the displays, the chalk mural, and the music of the bands that have agreed to play for RiverFest, which include Don Shappelle & The Pickups, Kartune and Shane Ely.
Either trip is likely to give the paddlers a chance to see wildlife — from hawks and eagles to herons and ducks to maybe a deer or river otter — as they relax and enjoy the natural setting.
The organized trips are ideal for beginners because they‘re accompanied by guides and they take place over a quiet stretch of the river, organizer Vinnie Cotrone said last week.
Interested paddlers are welcome to contact one of two outfitters to arrange a trip. Endless Mountain Outfitters can be reached at 570-746-9140 or kayaks@ptd.net or see www.emo444.com for more information. Susquehanna Kayak & Canoe Rental can be reached at 570-388-6170 or contact@kayaktheriver.com. For more info, see www.kayaktheriver.com/.
Earlier this week the Susquehanna River levels reached 10 feet at Wilkes-Barre, which would be too high to hold the paddling trips. But Maday said there’s plenty of time for the river to fall to a manageable depth.
“We have two weeks,” he said.
“Here’s the rule of thumb,” Maday explained. “It it’s 5 feet and rising we don’t go. If it’s 5 feet and falling we go. Five feet is the sweet spot, and safety is paramount in everything we do.”
Respect for the river, as in knowing when it’s safe to navigate, is “all part of teaching about the environment, learning to accept nature and work with it,” Maday said.
Speaking of safety, the RiverFest activities will be held under a series of small tents rather than one large tent, because of the recent coronavirus pandemic. “We don’t want people to feel crammed in together,” Maday said.
“We’re excited about this event,” he said, adding that the Riverfront Parks Committee also is looking forward to bringing representatives of Carbon County Environmental Education Center to Wilkes-Barre in September for presentations on live eagles and on reptiles.
They’re also talking with Gaslight Theatre to see if an outdoor Shakespeare production can be staged along the river later this year.
