River Festival 2008

Although rain fell both afternoons of the second annual Roscommon River Festival, visitors to Wallace Park and surrounding streets took advantage of a variety of exhibits and activities.

FLY TYING (Above) Jeff "Bear" Andrews of Grayling demonstrates the art of fly tying Saturday, first day of the second annual Roscommon River Festival. Events centered on fishing, canoeing, kayaking and other pursuits associated with the Au Sable River. There was even a "Dock Dog-Big Air Competition" for canine athletes, and the Roscommon Rotary Club staged its 21st annual Great Au Sable Duck Race on the last afternoon of the festival.

WOODWORK (Right) Wooden kayaks and other wooden boats were a favorite of spectators at the River Festival in Roscommon's Wallace Park Saturday. PACKING IT IN Gayle Yerge-Cole, a Higgins Lake summer resident from Livonia, shows how to pack a 13-foot kayak with gear for three days of comfortable camping. Her tips included attaching pull ropes to waterproof bags in the bow and stern of the boat. Yerge-Cole was one of many people who demonstrated river-related skills during the River Festival in Roscommon Saturday. Sunday's activities included free kayak paddle from Wallace Park to the Paddle Brave Canoe Livery, the "Dock Dog-Big Air Competition" and the Roscommon Rotary Club's 21st annual Great Au Sable Duck Race. FLY CASTING As a group of tubers begins a float down the South Branch of the Au Sable River, Ray Davies gives fly casting instructions in Wallace Park in Roscommon during Saturday's River Festival. TRYING IT ON FOR SIZE A Roscommon River Festival visitor tries out a canoe at the booth of the Old Au Sable Fly Shop, Grayling, one of numerous outdoors-related vendors who set up in Wallace Park and on nearby streets.