Montgomery Whitewater opens to Saturday crowds after storms cancel Friday night concerts

Friday was a wet and wild first day of grand opening for Montgomery Whitewater − and not just for rafting and kayaking guests, thanks to the afternoon storms that drenched the park.

Saturday's second grand opening day was a little different.

Sunny skies greeted an early morning a yoga session near the Montgomery Whitewater entrance, led by Jamie Smicklas of the new Inner Light Yoga Studio in Prattville. It had been scheduled for the grassy area near the music stage, but that was still too soggy from Friday’s rain.

“I just kind of reached out to them, and they were looking for someone to do yoga,” Smicklas said.

She said it’s still up in the air if yoga lessons will be a regular feature at the facility. Overall, she’s glad Montgomery Whitewater is giving the community a boost in health and wellness activities.

“It’s not just physical,” she said. “Yoga, for example, is mental and emotional. It’s just good for you in general to get out and about, and be out in nature.”

Hundreds of runners felt the same Saturday, turning out for the Splash 5K and Kids Fun Run. Among them was Angela Henderson of Daphne, an ambassador for Montgomery’s Black Girl Run chapter. She got involved with the group after moving from Virginia to Alabama. She’s also a frequent runner in the Montgomery Half Marathon.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for the community to come out and enjoy the water park, and cool off because it’s hot,” Henderson said.

Though she wasn’t planning to go whitewater rafting Saturday, Henderson said she’d be willing to come back and try it.

“I love water,” she said. “I live right on the water down in Daphne.”

Other planned Saturday morning events included an extreme slalom kayak competition and a corporate raft race, ahead of the official opening the artificial river channels to the public.

“I plan on coming out here a good bit,” said Kevin Kirby, a Millbrook resident and director of information technology for Marion Community Bank. He was ready to get active on the water during the corporate raft race.

“I’ve been waiting for this place to open for a really long time, ever since I heard of it,” Kirby said. “I love it. It’s going to be great. It’s something to do. The next closest place like this is North Carolina. They’ve already got teams from around the world signed up to just practice here.”

Kirby said he's also looking forward to Montgomery Whitewater’s next phase with zip lines, trails, climbing walls and more leading down to access to the Alabama River.

Adam Denman, who has the YouTube channel Up N' Adam Adventures, came with a group of kayakers from around Birmingham. He recently moved to Tallassee from Muscle Shoals. “There’s not enough whitewater there (in Muscle Shoals), unfortunately,” Denman said.

He was back Saturday after running the Montgomery Whitewater course several times since its soft opening, both kayaking and rafting. “I’ve been here pretty much every other weekend since then,” he said. “We love the park.”

Chris Pecou of Decatur is also a frequent visitor with the YouTube channel Yak Mafia. He’s a full-time kayaker who uses an inflatable duckie. Pecou, who is on disability, said he spent almost 200 days last year in it doing recreational kayaking. This is his first year on whitewater.

Kayaking is an important part of Pecou’s rehabilitation. Almost 7 years ago, he was paralyzed from the neck down from an infection caused by Lyme disease from a tick bite.

“I had to have emergency surgery,” Pecou said. “They didn’t know if I was ever going to walk or use my hands again. At that moment in time, I was just a head.”

His therapy facility offered kayaking, but Pecou wasn’t able to do it then because he had a stent in his arm that went directly to his heart.

“When I got out of the hospital, no matter what I was going to try this,” he said.

Pecou waited until he was able to walk with assistance to try kayaking. During his first try, he strapped a walker to the back of his kayak. He said the sport has helped heal him, physically and mentally.

“I’ve been in love with it ever since,” Pecou said.

On Friday, afternoon thunderstorms rolled in with heavy downpours and lightning that continued into the night. After a delay to see if it would pass, evening concerts by Texas country artist Harper O’Neil and soul singer/songwriter and guitarist Devon Gilfillian were cancelled.

“I wish I had access to something like this,” said Gilfillian, who spoke to the Advertiser Friday ahead of the storm cancellations. “I’m from outside Philly… Whitewater rafting wasn’t a thing. This is really cool.”

More storms could be on the way this weekend, according to the National Weather Service. Although the Montgomery area forecast for Sunday is partly sunny with a high of 91, there’s a slight chance of showers before 7 a.m., then a chance of thunderstorms between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m., and a chance for more storms in the afternoon.

Montgomery Whitewater puts a half hour pause on activities whenever lightning strikes within 8 miles of the facility.

Guests should pay attention to forecasts before validating their paid passes for whitewater activities. According to. montgomerywhitewater.com, they do not offer rain checks or refunds.

Montgomery Advertiser reporter Shannon Heupel covers things to do in the River Region. Contact him at sheupel@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Montgomery Whitewater opens to Saturday crowds after nighttime rainout