Paddlefest, Buena Vista’s annual celebration of river sports and culture, had a locally grown feel this year.
There were certainly plenty of visitors, but due to COVID-19 concerns, CKS Paddlefest 2021 was centered on the Chaffee County community. From the abundance of talented local paddlers and competitors to premier local band RapidGrass to the local fundraising effort for the Buena Vista River Park, Paddlefest narrowed its focus to the Arkansas River from Whipple Bridge to Beaver Falls Bridge near the Surf Hotel.
CKS owner and Paddlefest organizer Megan Kingman was happy about this year’s focus on the local community. “We had a great turnout,” she said. “It felt like we were really able to celebrate the local community and the river.” With mask restrictions easing in Chaffee County, the positive experience was more visible than it has been in over a year. “It was fun to see everyone smiling again,” noted Kingman.
After more than a year without any major community events, Paddlefest’s kickoff concert on Friday, May 28 at the Town Party with local favorite RapidGrass felt like a collective reemerging. With hours of dancing, reuniting, celebrating, and dusting off dormant social skills, the concert served as a fundraiser for the Buena Vista River Park.
For Kingman, one of the goals of Paddlefest has always been to raise money for a nonprofit. This year, the River Park was the perfect cause. With uncertainty swirling about the status of this year’s event, a locally relevant and locally organized project was important given limited volunteer time and ability to coordinate. Town of Buena Vista Recreation Director Earl Richmond spearheaded the fundraising effort.
Richmond said that the Town Party raised money for the River Park through donations, a raffle, t-shirt sales with the BV River Park logo, and beer sales from donated beer by Elevation Beer Company and Eddyline Brewing. Combined, these sales successfully raised $5,500 for the River Park.
The “Crown Jewel” of the Buena Vista Park System
The River Park launched in 2001, is one of Buena Vista’s most highly utilized park areas. It is open to the public, free to users, and the longest park of its kind in Colorado. Richmond sees the diversity of features as attractive and central to making the River Park the crown jewel of the park system. “There are trails, river access, gazebos, bathrooms, boat ramps, cool places to hang out, and five in-stream features. These features are super popular for kayakers, river surfers, boogie boarders, and recreational boaters as well. And they’re utilized a ton by fishermen and women during low water,” explained Richmond.
The third feature, called the Pocket Wave, was built in 2014, but is in significant need of remodeling and is the fundraising priority. At high water levels (above 2,000 CFS) the Pocket Wave is one of the top features for river surfing in the state. However, it loses its appeal at mid-range flows common during the summer. The overhaul aims to make this feature more fun and usable during all levels of stream flow. With the river’s increased popularity through town, an improved Pocket Wave will improve the River Park overall.
A competitor keeps focus in the Numbers Kayak Race during Paddlefest 2021. Photo courtesy of Cloud Level Media.
300 Percent Increase in 2020 River Park Usage
The River Park’s natural appeal, combined with more people turning to the outdoors and the river due to COVID, caused an unprecedented increase in River Park usage this year.
Richmond reported seeing “a huge increase, probably a 300 percent increase in usership in the River Park. We’ll keep an eye on it this year. This year started off busy because people that got into it last year, because they had nothing to do are still into it, they just don’t have as much free time.”
Even with much of Chaffee County and Colorado returning to normal post-COVID activity, Richmond still expects 2021 to be as busy as 2020.
“We encourage people to come check out the River Park area from the Whipple Bridge to the Surf Hotel to check out the sights and scenery. We appreciate all the support that people have given us. The great thing about more people surfing is that we get more stewards of the river, more folks to look after our resources and keep a watchful eye on things, and keep the stoke alive for the next generation.”
Those who want to help raise money for the Pocket Wave 2.0 can make a donation or purchase a t-shirt with the BV River Park logo.
The featured image of the BV Town Party is courtesy of Darcie Smith Adventurescape.
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