The 2021 Ridgway RiverFest has been postponed to its new date: Saturday, August 28.
The Ridgway RiverFest is a family-friendly celebration of the Uncompahgre River, our watershed and river recreation with all-age river races, live music, local food and drink, kids’ activities, watershed educational and cultural programs. The highlight of the day is the infamous “Junk of the Unc” race in which boaters maneuver their craft, constructed from scrap materials not intended for river travel, through whitewater rapids and others’ junk, trying to keep it all intact for the 0.5 mile finish line.
RiverFest is produced by the Uncompahgre Watershed Partnership, a Ouray County non-profit watershed group dedicated to helping protect the economic, natural, and scenic values of the Upper Uncompahgre River Watershed. The festival takes place in Rollans Park, Ridgway, Colorado.
Everyone who comes to the Ridgway RiverFest has a chance to get WET and enjoy the river. You can wade in the eddy and along the riverbanks or play on your watercraft in the middle of the river. For those who are more competitive, we have a few river races you can join.
Each year, the Ridgway RiverFest hires a couple great businesses to provide fun food for our festival goers. The Ridgway RiverFest also features awesome handcrafted beers from local breweries. Our Beer Partner is Colorado Boy Brewery in Ridgway. Plus, our famous RiverFest Margaritas will be back, on the rocks or blended with Glenda the Blenda bike. For food vendor information, view and download the 2021 Ridgway RiverFest Food Vendor Guidelines & Application. You can also contact Tanya at ridgwayriverfest@gmail.com or leave a message at 970-325-3010.
The Ridgway RiverFest features:
Junk of the Unc homemade boat competition
Rubber Ducky Race (or Rubber Ducky Hunt during extremely high flows)
Three boat race categories: inflatables, hard shell boats, and stand up paddle boards.
2019 FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
(2021 Schedule coming soon.)
9-10:30am
River race registration
10:00am
Silent Auction bidding begins
10am-4pm
Watershed Education demonstrations including River Bug Science, Renewable Energy display, Fly Fishing instruction, etc.
10am-4pm
Kids Eddy activities: snow cones by Voyager Youth Program, face painting, solar oven cookies, and more
10am-6pm
Food by The Ice Box and Ouray Cafe & Steakhouse, Beer by Colorado Boy and Margaritas by Glenda the Blenda
10:30am
River race safety briefing
11:00am
Safety Rope Bag toss contest
11:30am
River races: SUPS, Kayaks and Rafts (please no inner tubes this year due to high flows)
12:30-1:30pm
Ute cultural presentation by Regina Lopez-Whiteskunk
2pm
Junk of the Unc homemade river-craft race
2:30pm
Rubber Ducky Hunt (due to high river flows, we are having a hunt for ducks in the grove with a Grand Prize of a One-Day Jeep Rental with Rockin’ K Jeep Rentals
3-6pm
Live Music by Sugar & the Mint
4:30pm
River Race Awards Ceremony
5:00pm
Silent Auction bidding closes & winners pick up items
6:00pm
Festival end