Ohio River Paddlefest Celebrates 20 Years of Paddling the Ohio

Saturday’s 20th Annual Ohio River Paddlefest in Cincinnati, OH was a return to normalcy for almost 2,000 paddlers hungry for the opportunity to reconnect with each other and the Ohio River. It was our third time visiting and documenting the Ohio River Paddlefest (ORP), and since pictures (and videos) are worth a thousand words, we’ll let key personnel of the crack ORP planning team that Brewster Rhoads assembled do the talking. We’ve also got an interview with professional paddler and coach April Zilg, Doug Vojtko’s short talk about the Midwest Paddle League race series partnership between the ORP and The Waterman Series, a short ceremony honoring Dan Gilday, the namesake of the Daniel J. Gilday Riverside Playfield (the finish of the 9-mile paddle & race), and Brewster Rhoads’ wrap on two days along and on the Ohio River!

And yes, in case you were wondering, while our trip to the epic Ohio River Paddlefest was 95% for fun, we were also there for a reminder of how the Ohio River Paddlefest’s team gets 2,000 paddlers out on the Ohio River in a fun, efficient, and safe fashion. With 11 1/2 months to plan for the 4th Annual Blazing Paddles Paddlefest on July 23, 2022, we’ve got some work to do to host 1,000 paddlers on Cleveland’s hard-working, scenic, and historic Cuyahoga River!

Photo Gallery - Batch 1

Photo Gallery - Batch 2