Hundreds of people are expected to take to the Cuyahoga River on Sunday by kayaks, canoe or paddle boat for this year’s delayed Blazing Paddles Paddlefest.
The event organized by nonprofit Share the River was originally scheduled for June but was canceled due to extreme heat, according to Share the River founder Jim Ridge.
“We have done our best to try and get this event back in for our wonderful paddlers and our sponsors and partners who work with us to host our fun and engaging paddle on Cleveland’s historic Cuyahoga River,” Ridge said.
Blazing Paddles has events catering to two different types of paddlers: those who want to race and others who merely want to ease their way down the river.
“They can race a 3.7 mile, 6.1 or a 12.2-mile course on the Cuyahoga River,” Ridge said. “The vast majority of our participants participate in our recreational paddle. I would roughly say 86% of our registrants do the recreational paddle and about 14% of our participants are racers.”
Ridge said he started Blazing Paddles in 2018 to get people back to the river.
“Share the River started Blazing Paddles Fest with an idea that Cleveland’s waterfront could use a signature event to highlight the vibrancy of its waterfront,” Ridge said. “We thought a recreational paddle that reminded people that Cleveland is a riverfront city seemed like a good idea.”
Ridge expects 450 people to take part in Sunday’s Blazing Paddles.
“This is just an organic growth event,” Ridge said. “We originally started with eighty paddlers in our first year and by our fifth year, we were at 725 last year. We love how the recreational community has embraced this event.”
The event will also include a salute to the Eagle Avenue lift bridge, which was built in 1931 and is being demolished this winter, Ridge said.
“The paddle will give close to 450 paddlers a chance to paddle under that green lift bridge that has been in a permanent up position for a while,” Ridge said.
The best part of the Blazing Paddles event is that it brings family, friends and the community together, according to Ridge.
“Folks have this idea of getting together with their friends or their family,” Ridge said. “We can see from the registrations that there are a lot of shared last names, which is cool that people are making memories and keeping traditions by saying ‘Hey, let’s do Blazing Paddles again.'”
Participants can bring their own paddle boat or kayak, but anyone without some sort of watercraft will have the option to rent one. Registration is required ahead of time at Share the River’s website.