SKOWHEGAN — “It’s just really good to get people on the water,” Greg Hudzina said Saturday morning after sending a convoy of kayakers down the Kennebec River.

Hudzina was leading hourly kayak trips as part of this year’s Skowhegan River Fest, an annual celebration of life along the Kennebec River.

About 30 feet above him, on the other side of the Kennebec River Gorge, festival attendees watched kayakers float down the river while moseying through about a dozen local vendors’ booths, selling everything from tie-dyed shirts to wood-carved sculptures.

Plein air painters were stationed around downtown Skowhegan, carefully painting the scenes of the Kennebec River and festivalgoers in front of them. Attendees would later cast their votes to select their favorite painting, and all will be hung at the River Roads Artisans Gallery downtown.

The Skowhegan River Fest began this year on Wednesday with a glow stick paddle down the Kennebec, followed by a parade on Thursday, a street party on Friday and fireworks Saturday. Organizers said they expected over 2,500 people to attend over three days.

Festivities this year were not just meant to get people outdoors and in the river, but also to publicize organizers’ efforts to construct a “river park” in downtown Skowhegan, Hudzina said.

A participant in the group float through the Kennebec River Gorge led by the Skowhegan Outdoors team goes under the footbridge Saturday during River Fest in downtown Skowhegan. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Main Street Skowhegan, the nonprofit that organizes the event, plans to build a multimillion dollar whitewater rafting park on the Kennebec River beside downtown Skowhegan in the coming years.

“Right here is actually where we want to get it built,” Hudzina said, gesturing to the Kennebec River beneath the Weston Dam. “We don’t just want the whitewater river park, we want people to embrace it. So getting folks out here and in the water is a big part of that.”

Hudzina is an outdoor recreation facilitator at Skowhegan Outdoors, a program of Main Street Skowhegan.

Chainsaw artist Dan Burns of BurnsBears carves a bird in his booth Saturday during River Fest in downtown Skowhegan. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

The river park is planned to eventually include a controllable whitewater wave feature, a river access path, a trail system and more. The program is still in the engineering phase, though Main Street Skowhegan CEO Kristina Cannon expects construction to begin next year.

Building the river park will hopefully turn Skowhegan into a year-round outdoor recreation destination, bringing millions of dollars into the local economy each year.

Both River Fest and the planned river park are indicative of efforts to build and grow community and business in Skowhegan, according to Mollie Sharples, Main Street Skowhegan events manager.

“Elevating the community that’s already here is very important, but so is growing it and welcoming more people in,” she said from behind Main Street Skowhegan’s booth at River Fest. “There’s a lot of momentum but we can always use more.”