Oil Heritage Raft Race

08/20/2021

See you all tomorrow with bells on! Be there and on the river by 11:00 to make the start time! Arrive early if you can, there's always a bottleneck at registration and on the ramp. A couple points: A life jacket (PFD) is required for each rider of your raft. The PA Fish Commission does patrol the river, and they have been known to cite anyone who doesn't have one for each rider. Bridgefest will be going on at the finish line, which is river-right just as you go past Justus Park. There will be food, drinks, and entertainment awaiting you on the bridge. If you didn't attend this event in 2019, you're going to be in for a real pleasant surprise!

08/19/2021

C'mon folks, who's ready for rafting??? Weather looks good, river will be up enough that you won't have to paddle like crazy... What more could you ask for? Well, how about a free pancake breakfast to boot? Swing by the Henrys Bend church between 9:30 and 10:45 and git some! Donations are appreciated. And this year... when you arrive at the finish line, you're gonna have one heck of a party waiting for you!

08/17/2021

Just 5 days to race day! Who's ready? Watching the forecast, looks like partly sunny, high 70s. Perfect floatin' weather! Don't forget, the Henrys Bend church is hosting a free pancake breakfast, so load up your raft early and don't worry about getting something to eat until you arrive! Abe's is right there on the corner with Rt. 62 also, so any last-minute snacks you need, including sandwiches, can be picked up there!

07/16/2021

Well folks, the day of reckoning has arrived, and we're sorry to say we have to postpone the race. There's more rain on the way, and tomorrow looks like just a rainy day, all day long. Add to that, the Corps of Engineers is planning to continue to release water from Kinzua Dam all weekend, so the river level is not coming down.

Now for the good news...

Our new date is August 21st. Same start time, 11:00. The Henrys Bend church will probably still be doing their pancake breakfast; we'll let everyone know when it's confirmed. But the most exciting thing about this new date is that it coincides with Bridgefest, one of Oil City's newest festivals. There will be bands and food vendors set up right ON the bridge, and our finish line goes right under it! Stay tuned for more details, and now that there's extra time to get those rafts ready, we're expecting some pretty wild setups!

07/14/2021

Still watching those river levels... For anyone who wants to monitor it, here's a handy guide. We really want it to be in the 76-90 range, and right now it's at >90.

U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey URL: https://waterwatch.usgs.gov Page Contact Information: Contact USGS Page Last Modified: Sunday, July 11, 2021

07/13/2021

Rain, rain, go away! Looks like the rest of the week will be fairly dry, but the creeks are running hard right now. This means it all runs into the river, so the river's going to be up for a few days. Depending on how much they're letting out of the dam, we might be stuck with high water conditions on Saturday. If it's too high, we'll be forced to cancel/postpone. We're being optimistic though, so keep an eye on conditions and get those rafts ready! Also, the Henrys Bend church is going to be serving up a free pancake breakfast Saturday morning, so arrive hungry! Donations are happily accepted for this great start to the day.

06/24/2021

06/17/2021

It's ON, folks! Spread the word!

05/24/2021

Hey rafters! We need your input! We definitely want to have the race this year, but we want everyone who can possibly come out, to participate. We had a few suggestions over the past couple years, such as time it so that there are events going on in Justus Park, or time it so the Henrys Bend church can treat us to a pancake breakfast. So let us know the day and the date you think will work best for everyone, and any other suggestions you can come up with. Post here or send us a private message. We also need a sponsor!

07/11/2020

Well, our goal this year was to expand the race. We had a lead on a new sponsor, and we were going to time it so the church's pancake breakfast would coincide with the race. There were lots of moments when we thought maybe we could still pull it off, but in the end, the forces were too strong against us. Aside from the COVID-19 issues, the river is very low right now, and our launch/registration spot has new property owners. Looking forward to reviving the race in 2021 with some new energy!

07/30/2019

Here are this year's top finishers, more pics to come. Feel free to tag your people!