'Picture-perfect' weekend: Stonycreek Rendezvous wraps up after bringing 1,000 boaters to area
May 23—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Rows of tents filled Greenhouse Park behind him and the beer taps were flowing, but Brandon Wigfield was already seated in his kayak on Saturday, ready to ride a Stonycreek River rapid.
"For me, this is where the party's at," the Oakland, Maryland, resident said.
For 32 years, the river has always been the guest of honor at the Stonycreek Rendezvous, and this weekend was no exception, organizers said.
The annual event drew nearly 1,000 boaters before wrapping up on Sunday morning, Benscreek Canoe Club President Mike Cook said. He said the weather was "picture- perfect," with steady blue skies after a brief rain on Friday.
Organized each May by the Benscreek Canoe Club, the event often serves as a ceremonial start to the area's whitewater season and offers local boating and rafting enthusiasts a chance to welcome others from across the country who enjoy the outdoor sport.
"We've got people here this year from as far away as Florida and Georgia," Cook said. "Some of them camp, but a lot also stay in the local hotels."
For Wigfield, his nearly two-hour drive to the Johnstown area was a must for Rendezvous weekend.
"Sometimes you go to events like this and you never know what you're gonna get," he said. "At the Rendezvous, everyone here comes to boat — to be on the river. Everyone is into it here. The camaraderie is just great."
Boaters competed in a skills competition-style "rodeo" in the afternoon. Several years ago, the club started adding a projector screen, lights and music along the river's banks to allow the boaters to keep paddling after sunset, Cook said.
Once they dried off, attendees spent the weekend hanging out and supporting local vendors at the park or hitting the road and exploring the area, "which ends up being a nice bump in business for our local restaurants," he said.
Confluence resident Will Wanovich praised the event's relaxed vibe.
"Even the rodeo — it's really just about having fun," said Wanovich, a first-time Rendezvous attendee. "That's what kayaking is about."
Cook said the Rendezvous often draws a lot of familiar faces. The event typically draws a few hundred local visitors in addition to 800 or so from outside the region, many of whom keep coming back year after year.
But he said he was excited to see so many attendees bringing their children this year — and sharing the sport they love with a new generation of boaters.
With his wife and three children in his cab beside him, Jason Smith packed up his pickup truck with five kayaks on Friday and drove more than 230 miles from Nazareth, Northampton County, so they could spend the weekend on the water together.
"We brought a cargo trailer and a camper, and we're set for the weekend," he said with a smile as his three sons unloaded their boats for the rodeo.
"That's what we want to see," Cook said. "It's so cool seeing this expand and new generations (embracing) this."
