The Reno River Festival is commonly known as the kickoff to the special events season for Reno and Sparks. With river flows back to normal levels, organizers are expecting a better turnout than last year, which had solid attendance.
"Last year was the first year in the event's history we couldn't do the kayaking events because the water was too low, but this year, not only are we back but we have, for the first time in the event's history, the National Freestyle Kayaking Championships," Jess Horning, Partner of Liquid Blue Events said.
Horning expects about 35,000 people to attend the two-day event, starting Saturday.
"It's not just about the kayaking but it's a big huge festival," Horning said. "There's beer, there's music, the adventure park, there's a craft beer village."
That is not the only event happening, on Mothers Day weekend. Dine the District is happening along the riverwalk, Saturday afternoon. Later that night, Sands is hosting Night in the Country's Battle for the Full Moon Saloon. The first event to start is Reno Sculpture Fest, running from Friday through Sunday.
"Last year, we got around 15,000 people throughout the weekend," Aric Shapiro, Director of Reno Sculpture Fest said. "This year, we're projecting 30,000-40,000, if we're lucky, fingers crossed."
This is the second year of the event, featuring 30 large-scale sculptures and 40 music acts on 12 city blocks, in the heart of downtown Reno. Shapiro says it is already growing in popularity, with their online activity reaching 500,000 people, compared to 20,000 last year. The goal is to get more visitors to the event. Many of them spend plenty of money.
"By our estimates, we were around $300,000-$400,000 in related spending and $40,000 in lodging," Shapiro said. "It's really nice to see what the arts can do for the economy. Every dollar, anyone spends on art, generates $7 in revenue for a city."
Along with generating revenue, special event coordinators say it opens up the door to people that may not go downtown often, exposing the changes and improvements that are happening in the city.
"It provides an opportunity for people to see new businesses, growth, development, and it's great for the community," Horning said.
Some of those changes are happening in the events, too. This year, the Reno River Festival is adding the Reno River Roll, a seven-mile slow bike ride from the Virginia Street Bridge to Mayberry Park and back. About 60 kayakers attend the festival, each year, but about 100 will be on-hand for the 2016 event.
Organizers say their events are not competing, but working together. They expect some of their visitors will spill over to other neighboring events, and vice versa.
"People are ready to come out and they're ready to enjoy their city and we're trying to find different ways to engage our population," Shapiro said.
