The Beaver County River Regatta is an annual event held the third weekend of August, and this year it will be the 42nd year of celebration! This community event is free and full of fun for the entire family. We talked to Paula Cribbs from the Beaver County River Regatta to learn a bit more about this exciting event!
What makes the Beaver County River Regatta so special?
Well, first off, the Beaver County Regatta is a non-profit. It’s a weekend full of boat races, lighted boat parade, water ski shows, an Anything That Floats Contest, food vendors, a Firemen’s Water Battle, wing eating contest, live bands, fireworks (Saturday and Sunday)…and it’s run by volunteers! This is our final goodbye to summer, since most of our kids in the community head back to school shortly after the regatta. So we look forward to seeing everyone come out and show their support for the community.
What can we look forward to seeing at the Regatta this year?
Aside from the boat races, people are definitely looking forward to the Anything That Floats Contest and Little Miss Regatta. The Anything That Floats Contest is for children 10 years and older who create a masterpiece that can float down the river, but it can’t be a boat! It gives the kids a chance to use their creativity and compete against each other for prizes. We also give out a trophy to the first object that sinks. The kids get the chance to battle each other with water balloons, squirt guns, and sling shots—anything they can do to cross the finish line. Little Miss Regatta is another fun, free event where every participant is a winner. You can get more information about these two events and sign up for them on our Facebook page. You can also sign up for the kayak race and wing eating contest there, too!
What has this event meant to the community over the years?
This event has always been very special—to me and to the community. We enjoy working with the Beaver County Commissioners who continuously support our event, as well as the Bridgewater Borough, which provides police personnel to ensure the safety of Regatta-goers. The area gets noisy, roads get blocked off for a weekend, but people around here don’t mind. They always welcome the event, because it’s such a fun event for the community. And everyone is really excited for it this year, because we’re having two nights of fireworks instead of just one! The event goes from Friday, August 18th through Sunday, August 20th, with fireworks at 10:00pm on both Saturday and Sunday.
What does it mean to have Peoples Natural Gas as the main sponsor of the event?
Peoples coming on board as a main sponsor has not only been a big help financially but also with volunteers. As a community, we are responsible for finding enough volunteers to make the day flow smoothly; luckily this year Peoples is going to bring volunteers to help us out. Most people don’t realize that we hold many fundraising events to cover the large cost of the event, and we all volunteer to work on the event for free. With Peoples as our main sponsor, it frees up more time, and gives us more flexibility to make an even bigger and better event for our community. We are looking forward to working with them in the future and are so thankful for what they have brought to this event.
Why is the Regatta special to you?
I love this event because it is so community oriented. It brings our neighbors, friends, and families together, and everyone has a great time. From attending this event as a child to now planning this event as an adult, I have always said we throw the best party in Beaver County, and I hope to keep the party going for many more years! We welcome everyone and look forward to seeing you all August 18th-20th!
You can get more information about the Beaver County River Regatta on our Events page, or by visiting them on Facebook.