Even though the bank is a dusty, pockmarked mess akin to a war zone, there’s a palpable buzz of excitement this year surrounding Animas River Days.
Construction on the in-stream features for the new Whitewater Park are finished, and every day, river runners and curiosity seekers line the banks, checking out the new rapids and water holes, and watching the carnage as kayakers struggle and rafts flip.
“I am really excited,” said Casey Lynch, one of the original organizers of Animas River Days, first held in 1983. “The park around there is going to be one of the centers of the community and maybe all around Colorado.”
On the bank, it looks as if big machines just rolled through and tore it up and left a mess. Well, that’s because they did. But that hasn’t dampened the enthusiasm for the annual festival, which begins today and runs through Sunday. Far from it.
Local river users are excited by the in-stream changes, which include four bank-to-bank rock features set in concrete, as well as other features between the four rapids.
“You can already feel the difference,” said Andy Corra, co-owner of 4Corners Riversports and longtime organizer of and participant in Animas River Days. “It’s already changing the vibe.”
Take heart, river lovers. The bank along Santa Rita Park is about to get similar attention as the river did during the winter. Construction on bleachers, river trail, landscaping and more is expected to begin just after the July 4 weekend, said Cathy Metz, director of Durango Parks & Recreation.
When construction begins, the bank again will be closed to the public. Work is expected to continue through this year and maybe into 2015, Metz said.
What not long ago was an event put together solely by 4Corners Riversports has turned into a community effort with a committee formed by all sorts of river interests.
The four-day festival, now in its 32nd season, is a mix of river events, music and even dog competitions. It will kick off tonight with Movie Night, which will start at 5:30 p.m. at the Smiley Building.
Movie Night organizer Kent Ford, a world-class kayaker himself back in the day, said he’s been impressed by the crowds that have gathered along the Animas, some eating lunch, all eyeing the chaos.
“It’s already functioning more like a park,” he said.
River Days history
The event began in 1983 as the Navajo Trails Fiesta Whitewater Rodeo, held in late July. It was the brainchild of Nancy Wiley, who had just opened Four Corners Marine, the precursor of 4Corners Riversports, with her parents, Milt and Carol Wiley. The Wileys were looking for a way to promote river sports in town.
Wiley said she got the idea from the Payette Whitewater Roundup, after attending the event in Idaho that began around 1980. The inaugural Durango event was held in conjunction with the Navajo Trails Fiesta in late July. To appeal to both kayakers and rafters, it was co-sponsored by Four Corners Marine and Mountain Waters Rafting.
In a phone interview this week, Wiley said it started small. There were about 30 competitors the first year, which consisted of a downriver race and a whitewater kayak rodeo.
Casey Lynch, who owned Mountain Waters until selling it two years ago, said he got to “tag along” as Milt and Nancy Wiley led the way. Lynch’s business partner, Chuck Wales, organized the rafting side of the event.
Lynch said it took a lot of energy, and that he had to basically abandon his business for a while to put on Animas River Days. Despite Durango being a relatively small town, standards are high for outdoor events and competitions.
“I paid my dues,” Lynch, a certified public accountant, said in an interview Wednesday. “Durango has so many wonderful events. If it’s not done well, you catch a lot of flak.”
Nancy Wiley said that with a “tremendous amount of work” and an effort to publicize it nationally, the event slowly but steadily grew. By the 1990s, it was attracting national and even international-caliber competitors. And it continued to be a lot of work.
“I wanted to grow, grow, grow,” Wiley said, “and once I got big, big, big, I wanted to be just a hometown event again.”
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, however, the event’s popularity began to wane, said Corra, who was part of a group that bought 4Corners Riversports from the Wileys in 1998. (He is married to Nancy’s sister, Janet Wiley.)
Part of the issue is that other river festivals sprouted up. And because peak water flows are just about the same everywhere in the Rockies, the festivals are all jammed into a short time frame. In fact, this weekend Animas River Days conflicts with the Dolores River Festival in Dolores and the GoPro Mountain Games in Vail, a multisport event timed for good river flows.
But Animas River Days participants kept the event afloat by latching on to what serious paddlers might see as frivolous: the river parade.
“For a few years, the parade was what kept Animas River Days alive,” Corra said. “That’s really become the big part of the celebration.”
And now the festival has a committee representing multiple interests and businesses; and there are staffers to run it.
With a new feel to the river at Whitewater Park, and more amenities coming there as well as improvements at Oxbow Park and Preserve, and put-ins at 29th and 33rd streets, paddlers are excited for the future.
“It’s a full-on river town again,” Corra said.
johnp@durangoherald.com
Animas River Days Schedule
Times and dates are subject to change. For more information, visit www.animasriverdays.org.
Today
Movie Night, films cover a variety of topics matching the theme “Celebrate Local Wild Rivers,” 5:30 p.m., $12/$10, Smiley Building, 1309 East Third Ave.
Friday
Durango Massive presents “Elder Grown and Deer People,” fundraiser for Animas River Days, 10 p.m., $10, Animas City Theatre, 128 East College Drive, www.eldergrown.com, www.durangomassive.com.
Saturday
Slalom Race, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Whitewater Park at Santa Rita Park, 149 South Camino del Rio.
Dog Fetching Contest, 11 a.m., Animas River, Santa Rita Park.
Dog Fetching Contest, 11:30 a.m., land, Santa Rita Park.
Best Dry Land Dog Trick contest, noon, Santa Rita Park.
Ska Brewing Beer Garden opens, noon, Santa Rita Park.
Stillwater Foundation will present Sound Company, Katie and the Hooligans, Grove Casters, 32nd Street Collective and Live Wire, noon, Santa Rita Park.
Boatercross, 1:30 p.m., Whitewater Park at Santa Rita Park.
Surf the San Juans’ Last Paddler Standing SUP Race, 1:30 p.m., Whitewater Park at Santa Rita Park.
Yellow Ducky Race, 3 p.m., buy ducks at the Animas River Days booth, Santa Rita Park.
River Parade, 5:30 p.m., starts at 33rd Street put-in and ends below Whitewater Park at Santa Rita Park.
After Parade Party featuring The Great Funktier, 7:30 p.m., $5, Ska Brewery, 225 Girard St.
ARD Late Night Party with DJ Soul Atomic, 10:30 p.m., El Rancho, 975 Main Ave.
Sunday
Downriver Kayak Race, 9 a.m., starts at 33rd Street put-in and ends at bridge near Four Corners Riversports takeout, 360 South Camino del Rio.
Smelter Smackdown Raft Sprint, 10 a.m., start at Ninth Street and race through Santa Rita Whitewater Park.
4CRS’ Durango SUP Series, first in series of three, 10:30 a.m., starts at 33rd Street put-in and ends at bridge near 4Corners Riversports takeout.
Surf the San Juans’ Freestyle Competition, Kayak and SUP classes, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Whitewater Park at Santa Rita Park.
Ska Brewing Beer Garden opens, noon, Santa Rita Park.
Live Music featuring One Roof Blues and Bermuda Collective, noon, Santa Rita Park.
Mild to Wild’s Inflatable Downriver Relay Race, tube and ducky and raft race, 1 p.m., 29th Street through Santa Rita Whitewater Park.
Mild to Wild’s Inflatable Rodeo, 1 p.m., Whitewater Park at Santa Rita Park.
Animas River Days Awards Ceremony, 2:30 p.m., Santa Rita Park.
