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Paddlefest celebrates 12th event

By Brett Dunlap 4 min read

PARKERSBURG – The 12th annual Paddlefest was held Friday and Saturday on the Ohio and Little Kanawha Rivers where kayakers paddled to Blennerhassett Island and enjoyed the outdoors.

Around 40 people participated in the Glow Paddle event Friday evening in a trip on the Little Kanawha River from Point Park to the East Street Bridge and over a dozen participated in a trip on the Ohio River from Point Park to Blennerhassett Island Saturday morning for activities promoting fitness and spending time outdoors. The event was organized by Wild River Kayak Co.

The event is a day for kayakers, canoers or anyone with a non-motorized boat to safely go out on the water, said organizer Jennifer Bartlett. Participants came from West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky and Pennsylvania, she said.

"It is the chance to get out and enjoy the water," she said. "We wanted to give people the chance to get outside and away from their screens and make new friends. We also wanted to give people the opportunity to get people out on the Ohio River without worrying about the big barges. We can bring our non-motorized vessels on the water and paddle around without anyone worrying about getting run over."

Bartlett had to obtain a number of permits to close the river for a short period of time to barge traffic to hold the event.

A Kayak Fun Race also was held from the kayak launch in Point Park near the Juliana Street Bridge to the amphitheater and back. A fishing tournament was cancelled due to faster currents caused by recent rains.

Storms earlier in the week and the rain that was expected on Saturday made it difficult, however, Bartlett was still happy with the Glow Paddle event Friday evening.

"(The Glow Paddle event) went fantastic," Bartlett said. "We had 38 people out on the river (Friday) evening. I was so excited. Everyone really had a good time."

During the events on the water, river traffic was controlled for a few hours to allow people to safely kayak along the Ohio River with the assistance of the US Coast Guard alerting barges and other vessels on the river as well as the local fire boat escorting the boaters, Bartlett said. Kayak rentals were available if people didn’t have one of their own.

Mike West of Parkersburg has been kayaking for a number of years and has participated in the event in the past.

"It is a great paddling event," he said. "Paddling to the island, it is just a great sense of adventure and discovery, like you are landing on the island for the first time as an explorer. It is a great event and they are doing a really good job here."

His sea kayak is 25-years-old and is made of Kevlar that he bought in North Carolina. It is designed to be used on the ocean.

"It is unique for this area," West said. "It will do good in the current on the Ohio River as I was not able to make it to the ocean this year."

Jeff Shuman of Vienna participated with his brother and nieces. He said he has participated in the event for a few years.

"It is always a fun time," he said. "We always have a great time paddling down to the island and back. The kids love it. My oldest niece is 13 and she has been doing it since she was about 5 and my youngest niece is 6 and they really have a ball doing it."

They appreciate the river being closed to larger vessels during the event.

"With having my nieces out there it is a lot easier to do without the barges going by," Shuman said.

Next year the event will become a non-profit organization and will be raising awareness of and support for autism causes. The event will be known as "The Parkersburg Paddlefest: Paddle for the Puzzle."

At the event, people talked about bringing kayaks to events with children with autism, let them sit in the boats and be able to see them up close.

This was the first Paddlefest for Kerri Buck of Parkersburg.

She and a friend have had kayaks for a number of years, but haven't had to opportunity until now. She kept her eye on the weather through Friday night and Saturday morning.

"We wanted to come down and enjoy the water and meet other kayakers," she said. "I used to be a rower and I loved being on the water. This was the closest event I could do on my own. It is relaxing and I get a little bit of exercise."

Contact Brett Dunlap at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com

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