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MAY 21, 2014 | 63

L
ike the roiling river that runs ers on the entire

through the heart of Bigfork, the length of the Wild A Whitewater
town’s signature whitewater festi- Mile, starting at Festival competitor
val has been marked in years past the dam above Big- on the “Wild Mile”
by moments of turbulence.
fork and running section of the Swan
And while a checkered past has nev- all the way to Sliter River in Bigfork.
er obscured the triumphs of the kayak- Park in downtown.
BEACON FILE PHOTO
ers competing on the swollen rapids, “The expert
organizers of the 39th annual Bigfork slalom is so unique

Whitewater Festival have put forth a because it’s on such challenging wa-
concerted efort to shift the event back ter. It’s just so special. It challenges the
to its community-oriented roots.
strongest paddlers in the world. They
This year, the aptly named “Wild come here and say, ‘wow, that was in-
Mile” of the Swan River promises to fea- tense,’” Dezzani said.
ture its vaunted big water as kayakers The races are accessible for specta-
compete for a $5,000 cash purse, and the tors on the Swan River Nature Trail,

crowds are certain to turn out in droves. making it easy for families to watch the
But organizers and community mem- whitewater action.
bers are conident the downtown revelry In addition to the three advanced
that accompanies the two-day event will races, the festival dishes up something
strike a more tranquil balance.
nity to be proud of this festival,” Woods it alive, but now we’ve got the Bigfork lo- for everyone, with a slalom course
Spectators at the Bigfork Whitewa- said.
cals who care about it and their commu- geared toward beginners, a triathlon for
ter Festival, which takes place May 24 The Bigfork Whitewater Festival nity, and they have done a great job.”
endurance types and a standup paddle-
and 25, should have noticed a more fam- was started by a group of local kayakers The weekend features numerous board race, as well as paddleboard dem-

ily-friendly atmosphere last year, and who began running the “Wild Mile” in events, demos and competitions, but os.
this year that change – and the addition the 1970s and the event continues every three races stand out as its centerpiece Kayakers from around the world are
of high-ticket prizes – has helped draw year as one of the top racing draws in the – the expert slalom, the downriver race drawn here to ride a breakneck set of
top kayakers from across the country.
Northwest. The whitewater section of and the giant slalom.
class 4 rapids through the heart of town
“We want this to be an event the the Swan River is one of the most chal- To win the cash prize, kayakers must and celebrate spring runof by plying
community can be proud of,” organiz- lenging runs in western Montana.
combine their times from all three rac- the churning waters of the Swan River,
er Beth Woods said. “The irst order of But in recent years, organizers Mike es. The irst place prize is $3,500, second which will likely surge to around 4 feet

business was getting the community and Niki Dezzani were keeping the races place is $1,000 and third place is $500.
by Memorial Day weekend.
support back into the festival.”
going on life support as the community’s “And it’s only a $35 entry fee,” Woods The town will be hopping all week-
Security will be on hand to make enthusiasm dwindled.
said, adding that the cash incentive end, with live music and other events
sure people aren’t misbehaving, and vol- “The whole town is inally behind it. has attracted big-name kayakers from throughout the town.
unteers will help mitigate trash and lit- It took a while, but in the last two years around the world.
For information on the 39th annual
ter.
we’ve gotten the support of the town In the slalom race, kayakers navigate Bigfork Whitewater Festival log on to
“The community gets sick of the again,” Niki Dezzani said. “It was just about 20 gates hung over the churning bigforkwhitewaterfestival.com.
roughhousing and we want the commu-
me and Mike for a while trying to keep
rapids. The downriver race pits kayak-
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