Blazing Paddles Paddlefest was an early birthday gift to the City of Cleveland!

/ Nautica Waterfront District/

Happy Birthday to the City of Cleveland! July 22nd is the anniversary of the 1796 date when Moses Cleaveland and his boat of Connecticut Land Company surveyors landed at the confluence of the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie, establishing a capital city of the Connecticut Western Reserve. Seven years later, Ohio became our nation's 17th state. In 1832 the Ohio & Erie Canal was completed. The Gilded Age (1870s to the early 1900s) in American history ensued, fueling Cleveland’s rise as a major American city and industrial manufacturing superpower (and doing TERRIBLE things to the Cuyahoga River).

It's no accident our Blazing Paddles Paddlefest is held on the weekend closest to this important anniversary. Mark your calendars (Facebook event link) for the 8th annual Blazing Paddles Paddlefest on July 17-18, 2026! We will be an #America250Ohio event for #America250.

Thank you to our vendors, site and hospitality partners, safety armada (led by Argonaut), our take-charge team leads, and our amazing and indefatigable volunteers (click the hyperlink for a super-analogy) who made Saturday’s brilliant day on the Cuyahoga River possible for our guests!

We are super-thankful for our partnership with Lake Carriers’ Association and members of the Cuyahoga River Safety Task Force (CRSTF). Over 22,000 jobs and $4.7 billion in annual economic activity are tied to the roughly 13 million tons of cargo that move through Cleveland Harbor each year. The fact that commercial maritime and heavy industry voluntarily pause their operations to provide Share the River’s Blazing Paddles Paddlefest paddlers exclusive use of the Cuyahoga River, a federal navigation channel, makes the following paragraph/ask SUPER-IMPORTANT!

Paddlers, now that you’ve discovered the unique charms of the Cuyahoga River, PLEASE be mindful on your future paddles to #MindTheFreighter. We have a dedicated “Know Before You Go on the Cuyahoga River” page full of simple tips and details on how to have a fun and safe day on the federal navigation channel, an H2O highway. Paddlers, It is YOUR responsibility to avoid an unfortunate headline.

Yes, the Herbert C. Jackson is moored to the bulkhead

This is an iterative blog post as it will be updated with new images, video, and text.

News media coverage

"A weekend of parties, paddles, and pride along the Cuyahoga River!" (spot-on News5 Cleveland!)

Drone Ohio video (added 7/27/25)

2025 Blazing Paddles Paddlefest Thank You video

TV 20 interview video (added 7/26/25)

Blazing Paddles Paddlefest galleries

Drone Ohio Gallery (added 7/23/25)

Share the River Gallery

Jones Drones Cleveland (added 7/23/25)

Jordan Kit Gallery (added 7/28/25)

Laura McShane Gallery

Lee Baskey Gallery

The safety support boats of Blazing Paddles Paddlefest 2025

Jessica Yeager Gallery - Racer Podium (added 7/24/25)

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