STRONG – Bring a canoe or kayak with life jacket and come paddle your way down the Sandy River Saturday during the town’s fourth River Festival. That’s the invitation issued by Milt Baston who said the water is “perfect for canoeing.”

For those not inclined to canoe, a variety of activities have been planned from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Legion Field, the site of a baseball diamond located near the bridge coming into town.

Instructional displays, a log rolling contest and boom log run, dunk tank, inner tube race and free fishing are just a few of the events lined up during the day, he said.

The event has its start in 2001 during the town’s bicentennial celebration, only that year it lasted three days, he said. Then it lapsed a couple years but three years ago, the Strong Area Business and Civic Alliance decided to rejuvenate it.

A leisurely ride down the Sandy River 9.5 miles to the Fairbanks Bridge in Farmington begins at 9 a.m., Baston said. A free shuttle service is provided once participants reach the bridge. A new carrier and school bus will bring participants back to Legion Field where other activities will begin.

Trout Unlimited will teach fly-tying and offer casting lessons throughout the day. Techniques for paddling safely will be taught by Rick Rogers from the state Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. The IF&W will also stock the river, behind where the activities are planned, with 1,000 trout, Baston said.

Northern Lights of Farmington will give canoe and kayak demonstrations and tryouts and Ray Corey from the Franklin County Cooperative Extension will bring a half-dozen GPS units for instruction and then children are invited to participate in a treasure hunt using clues on the GPS units.

The local Boy Scout troop will open festivities with a flag ceremony then conduct a dunk tank throughout the day or until Scout Master Kenny Flagg tires of being dunked, Baston said.

For those more daring or those who like to watch, a canoe poling (art of propelling a canoe with a 12-foot pole rather than paddle) will be held at 11 a.m. followed by an inner tube race at noon, canoe games in the river at 1 p.m. and log rolling and a boom log run from 2 to 5 p.m., he said.

In the boom log run, a series of logs, totaling 95 feet, have been hooked together in a straight line, he said, and participants will try to run from the first one, which is tied to the shore, to a raft at the end.

The Healthy Community Coalition plans to be there and a display from Poland Spring, Enviroscape, that shows how pollution can affect rivers and lakes will be set up, he said.

Everyone is welcome to bring a picnic lunch, but hamburgers and hot dogs also will be available, he said.

Interest in continuing the River Festival has increased, Baston said. “We’d like to build it up to where even Farmington and Phillips would be involved. May be a 20-mile paddle down the Sandy River and a two-day celebration,” he said.