LEWISTON — The L/A RiverFest wrapped up its two-day celebration of the Androscoggin River with a regatta Saturday at Simard-Payne Memorial Park.
Seventeen teams took to the Androscoggin as drums were heard by the docks. Thuds reached all the way to the John T. Jenkins Memorial Bridge that links the Twin Cities together above the river.
“There is only so many places inland that you can actually host a regatta. We have a unique opportunity,” said Katie Palmer, director of events and operation at the LA Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. “The river has to be wide enough, it has to be safe enough, there’s all these elements that have to happen for you to actually have a regatta in a city.”
Missy and Paul Gill, of Camden, were there to watch the regatta Saturday morning. “Our daughters are rowing in this race. One of them goes to Bates (College), so this is her second home. They’ve done this regatta for the past four years,” Missy Gill said. The family has witnessed the festival’s growth and changes over the years.
“It’s a beautiful riverfront. Just the improvement it’s had over the past few years … we were here the first year,” Missy Gill recalled. “They were actively pulling things out of the river with magnets, magnet fishing, to promote cleanup. I think it’s a worthwhile effort. It’s beautiful.”
Folks gathered on the John T. Jenkins Memorial Bridge to enjoy the view of rowers on the day’s calm Androscoggin. “I want to see how these guys coordinate a fast turn,” said Peter Huntsman, who had been an oarsmen in his college days.
“Back when I was rowing, they were well into the cleanup of the Charles River (in Massachusetts). When we won a race, we were actually able to toss our coxswain in the water,” Huntsman said. “In the ’60s, there were questions about whether you should actually throw your coxswain in the water because of the pollution.”
The festival had free physical therapy services onsite for those who needed it. “I have stuff out from foam rollers, I call it my ‘marshmallow stick,’ to cups and massage guns for people to come and use as they want,” said Connor McGehee of Kinetic Physical Therapy in Lisbon.
Bill and William Bundy row Saturday on the Androscoggin River as they are framed by the John T. Jenkins Memorial Bridge during the RiverFest Regatta based out of Simard-Payne Memorial Park in Lewiston. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
L.L.Bean’s iconic Bootmobile was by the docks handing out free bandanas for festivalgoers and their pet companions.
In the afternoon, folks with different types of vessels were able to hop on the water and cruise the Androscoggin.
Festival organizers said that the L/A RiverFest is set to return next summer with even more water fun.
“We are hoping to add canoe, kayak and stand-up paddleboarding races for the next year,” said Shanna Cox, president and CEO of the LA Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.
Lewiston Rowing has plans for next year’s regatta too. “We are hoping to start an actual rowing class in the fall, so we can have a club,” said Amy Sanchez, a program director for Lewiston Rowing. “Next year, we’ll have our own team to row.”
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