Organizers of Paddlefest say their river party is the biggest in the country, and it's time to prove it.
Founder and Chair Brewster Rhoads says more than 1,800 people have registered to take a canoe, kayak or a paddleboard down the Ohio River from the Schmidt Recreation Complex. Representatives from the Guinness Book of World Records will be there too.
“They send a team of people. We have a timing mat and everybody has a chip in their wristband. It’s digitally recorded,” he says. “They also have a drone. They have photographers as well. They do everything that’s required to document the event so nobody can challenge that it was a fake certification.”
The previous record is 1,105 participants in Pine Beach, New Jersey, in 2022.
Rhoads says the event gives people a "personal and intimate experience" with the river.
“You’re inches above the water level when you’re in a canoe or kayak,” he says. “We, of course, want people to be excited about the river, be an advocate for it, stand up for it. The best way to do that is to give them an experience with it.”
Rhoads says the event is safe and the water is clean. He says there were only three weeks during the 2025 recreation season from May to October when the water was considered unsafe.
“Right now, there’s undetectable e-coli. It is super safe to swim. It’s beautiful, it’s gorgeous. You can see three or four feet down. The river’s in the best condition it’s been all year right now.”
The Ohio River is normally a working river, with a lot of barge traffic. The Coast Guard shuts that all down for the morning.
“We have 12 safety forces, from police to fire, on both sides of the river. We have 40 safety paddlers who have vests on. They’re very visible,” he says. “The good news is we’ve done this for years and years. Once in a while, somebody will flip over. Fine, we put them back in their boat. It’s no big deal. Everybody has to wear a life jacket, properly attached.”
Racers start at 7 o'clock, Saturday morning. The rest of the armada follows them at 8:30.
Paddlefest's parent organization, Adventure Crew, is a financial supporter of Cincinnati Public Radio.
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