The weekend of June 30 and July 1, festival fever will be hitting Athlone and the river Shannon once again for the 2018 Athlone River Festival.
This year by kind permission of Waterways Ireland and supported by Westmeath County Council, Lough Ree RNLI Lifeboat volunteers will be organising the river festival.
The river Shannon has been the base for festivals in Athlone throughout Athlone’s history, from the original Athlone people’s regatta in the 1920’s to the more recent Athlone river festival in the 1990’s that then started up again over the past couple of years.
The event begins on Saturday June 30 with the IWAI motor cruiser flotilla sail-past and arrival into the town, prior to the start of the TriAthlone.
On Sunday July 1 the activities start at 10.00 am with the very popular junior fishing competition organised by Athlone Anglers, followed by a variety of activities, including a sailing demonstration, rowing races, sub aqua demonstration, flyboarding and the main event, the RNLI Raft Races at 4.00 pm.
Speaking recently, Damien Delaney, volunteer member of Lough Ree RNLI said, ‘Lough Ree RNLI Lifeboat has received huge support from the communities around Lough Ree and we would like to repay the community with a fun-filled water-based weekend for all to enjoy’.
Entry forms & race rule for the raft races are available from Kieran Sloyan, call 087 629 8133 or message on the Facebook page. All entries must be submitted no later than 5.00 pm on Thursday June 21, 2018 and all participants must be 12 or older on the day of the race.
Lough Ree RNLI are also seeking sponsorship for some of the events on the day. If you or your business would like to sponsor an event, please contact Damien Delaney on 087 243 7092 or email [email protected]
A full timetable and further information can be found on the RNLI River Festival Facebook page, www.facebook.com/athloneRNLIriverfestival
