Buckhannon Riverfest highlights importance of clean water

BUCKHANNON, W.Va. (WBOY) — Around a hundred people came together on Saturday to celebrate the Buckhannon Riverfest.

The goal of the annual festival is to highlight the importance of the river’s role in the community, including showcasing information about watersheds, organisms that can be found in West Virginian waters and an opportunity for people to kayak and paddleboard on the river for free.

Father Darren Hoover was happy to see two of his kids try the water activities for the first time.

“It’s a lifetime of memories that they’ll enjoy—we don’t get to do this because we don’t have the equipment to do it,” Hoover said. “And it’s just something different for them to do, it’s something nice that the community put together and it’s free.”

The celebration also included 74 paddlers that signed up ahead of time, coming from the Hampton part of the river trail down the to the Riverwalk Park boat ramp. Chrissy Sandy, Board Member of Buckhannon River Watershed Association , is glad to see people appreciating the environment.

“We have the paddlers drop their boats at Hampton, and then they drive their car back here and park and we have Trubie Run Outfitters running a shuttle up to drop them off,” Sandy said. “So they’ll paddle from Hampton—it’s 4.2 miles I believe from Hampton to the Buckhannon Riverwalk Park.”

Organizers said their number one goal is to conserve, preserve and protect the Buckhannon River.

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