River festival Saturday provides family fun

For starters, the Back to the Chattahoochee is a real race, and the party takes place afterward, not during the competition. And the rangers with the National Park Service help put the race on, not try to keep a lid on it.

“It’s definitely a kinder, gentler, family-friendly version, and it is very much a race,” said David Lee Simmons, communications director for the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper.

But it has maintained a sense of fun. The 350 to 400 canoeists and kayakers are encouraged to dress in costume for the 8-mile paddle that ends with a festival at Roswell’s Riverside Park.

Witness Chris Nadine, who showed up last year in an algae-green Statue of Liberty costume, then made the bold move of standing up in her kayak for a photo. This year? It’s Wonder Woman.

Nadine is a part-time instructor of Atlanta Area Paddlers, whose members choose costume themes every year.

“Not everybody dresses up, but it’s fun,” she said.

The race is organized by the environmental group Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, the National Park Service and the city of Roswell to foster a sense of community around the river that serves nearly 4 million metro Atlantans with drinking water.

It’s too late to sign up for the race, which starts at 9 a.m. Saturday from Garrard Landing Park at 8000 Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell. However, the after-race festival, at Roswell’s Riverside Park from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., is free and family-friendly. It includes live music, exhibits, local artists and farmers market vendors. There will be a Frisbee dog demonstration, local artists, a farmers market, face painting and other activities for children.

For more information, go to http://www.chattahoochee.org/river-race-festival.php.