Pittsburgh Three Rivers Regatta facts for kids
The Pittsburgh Three Rivers Regatta is a big yearly festival held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It's named after the three rivers – the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio – that meet right in Pittsburgh. The festival first started in 1978.
A major highlight of the Regatta is often an F1 ChampBoat Series race. This exciting boat race first came to Pittsburgh in 1982. It was actually the very first F1 power boat race ever held in the United States! After a short break, F1 Powerboat racing returned to the Pittsburgh Regatta in 2008.
The festival used to happen around the July 4th holiday. However, since 2016, it has moved back to early August, which was its traditional time before 2004. The Pittsburgh Regatta is the biggest river festival of its kind in the United States. Tens of thousands of people come to watch along the Allegheny River. The F1 race course is about 1.25 miles (2 kilometers) long. In 2008, the Pittsburgh F1 ChampBoat race was even shown on the national Speed Channel!
This modern Regatta continues a tradition of speed boat and paddle wheeler races. These races were part of the "Pittsburgh Welcome Week Regatta," which began way back on May 21, 1949, and continued through the mid-1950s.
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Exciting Festival Events
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The Regatta is a three-day festival in downtown Pittsburgh. It's packed with lots of fun activities for everyone! You can enjoy free concerts and try tasty food from many different vendors. There are also amazing aerial shows in the sky.
On the water, you can watch various water sports and exciting dragon boat races. The festival often includes the big July Fourth fireworks display for the City of Pittsburgh. It's estimated that over 1.5 million people attend some part of the Regatta events every year.
A Look Back: 1988 Accident
On August 7, 1988, during one of the Formula 1 boat races, a boat went out of control. Sadly, it crashed near Three Rivers Stadium. A serious accident happened where a boat went off course, causing injuries and one young person to lose their life. This event was even captured live on TV during a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game.
Past Race Highlights
1979 Race
The Regatta held its "Mid-America Sternwheeler Race" on August 11 and 12, 1979. The finish line for this race was at the Smithfield Street Bridge.
2008 Race
The 2008 F1 ChampBoat race was a big event. Here are the top finishers:
- Shaun Torrente from Homestead, Florida, won first place.
- Tim Seebold from Osage Beach, Missouri, came in second.
- Terry Rinker from Tampa, Florida, finished third.
Why the Regatta Was Cancelled Sometimes
On July 30, 2019, the people in charge of the Three Rivers Regatta announced that the festival would not happen that year. It was supposed to be from August 2 to 4, 2019. The main reasons were that the event's organizer didn't get the right permits and insurance. They also still owed money from past Regattas to the state of Pennsylvania for using Point State Park, and to the city of Pittsburgh for security.
Because of these problems, the Regatta was also cancelled for 2020 and 2021.
