POWDERSVILLE — Record numbers from all across the South East turned up at Dolly Cooper Park in Powdersville this past weekend to take part in the seventh annual Saluda River Run.
“It’s been pretty crazy,” said volunteer Brian Mercier. “I’m just up here telling people where they can park, but I wasn’t expecting this big of a turnout, I don’t think.
“It’s funny, one guy — I guess he comes all the time — and so he’s like ‘What’s going on today? Man we come here all the time and there’s usually only like three cars in the parking lot!’ Today is a little different …”
Word of mouth, social media, community fliers and online registration all helped to bolster this year’s attendance which rally organizers stated easily topped last year’s numbers.
“It’s just a fun day to spend with the family,” said Maddison Clearley,who was attending the rally with her children and husband. “Or it’s supposed to be. My husband, Andy, we were here for about five minuets and he vanished with my oldest and the boat, canoe, kayak — whatever it’s called. Couple of river rats, those two. God, they’re probably paddling all the way to Piedmont …”
Camping, bluegrass music, barbecue and of course, plenty of river excursions were available for rally attendees. Although most people used kayaks, plenty of canoes, rafts and tubes could also be seen making their way up and down the Saluda over the weekend.
“It’s great to see this park (Dolly Cooper) being utilized,” said Clearley. “They’ve got this huge space — and the river access — and it just seems like no one ever does anything with it. Someone told me they just added the boat launch last year, I didn’t even know it was there. This rally is neat, Powdersville gets overlooked because we’re a city but we’re not a city. We need to do stuff like this more often.”