CHARLESTON, W.Va. — It’s a wrap on the fourth year return of the Charleston Sternwheel Regatta.
Mayor Amy Goodwin says after another successful year of the Regatta once again, planning is already underway for a big year next year.
“Next year is year five of bringing it back and it’s our nation’s big birthday, so we have a lot to think about for next year already,” Goodwin said on 580 Live Monday morning following the four-day event.
The annual Regatta– and now one of the state’s largest festivals after its return in 2022– got underway this past Thursday and lasted through Sunday.
The free event is brought with multiple activities, live music, food, fireworks, parades, and various festivities over the course of the Independence Day holiday weekend across the riverfront on the Kanawha Boulevard as well as right in downtown Charleston.
Goodwin said while Mother Nature was really kind to them over the course of the four days as far as no storms go, the intense heat was another story, but they tried to accommodate the best they could with lots of cooling stations and water activities for the kids.
“The heat was really, really taxing on a lot of people, people came out later, and so we’re always going to have to try and navigate what that looks like,” she said.
Most of the Regatta went smoothly, but there was an incident on Saturday night regarding what is described as a “disturbance” involving a firearm near Court Street and the Kanawha Boulevard.
According to Charleston Police, three teenage boys were detained and three firearms were found in their possession.
Goodwin said it was amazing how quickly the city police were able to resolve the situation with such a huge crowd nearby and with everything going on.
“If there’s any positive out of that negative situation it’s that, those guys and gals, within I’m going to say 90 seconds but I think really in fairness it was probably like 2 minutes, they had them and had the situation contained and with tens and tens of thousands of people around,” she said.
Two of the teens were charged with being in possession of a firearm and possession of a stolen firearm. One was also charged with wanton endangerment.
Also on the third day of the Regatta on Saturday, Busta Rhymes was the headlining act, but there had been some criticisms surrounding his performance.
Some were saying that Busta Rhymes used foul language during his performance and didn’t know what city he was in, but Goodwin downplayed the issue, saying that may have been blown out of proportion as he appeared to be a big hit for the crowd of young people that were at the show.
“It was one of the largest crowds that we had,” she said. “I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know his music, but my kids do and the younger crowd, they loved it, they loved the DJ that he had with him as well.”
All in all, Goodwin said it was another successful Regatta.
She said the Regatta Committee couldn’t do it without the support from the Kanawha County Commission.
“It’s so strange, well, unique maybe is a better word, we have two county governments that are dialed into this,” she said. “When I went to Ben Salango and asked for the support for this, he didn’t hesitate, and it has been incredible.”
Goodwin said her entire city team worked non-stop throughout the holiday weekend to make another great Regatta happen.
She said there’s no question about it, there will be a year five.
“You couldn’t have come down any of the days and not seen huge crowds, huge, huge crowds,” Goodwin said. “It’s not my opinion, it’s a fact, it’s not because I would like to have it, it is because we heard from the people and they have spoken.”
Next year, for the Regatta’s fifth year after it was brought back to the city in 2022, will be America’s 250th anniversary and Goodwin said there’s plans to do something special to celebrate that.