Visitors to the banks of the Ohio River in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky might think they went through a time warp this week when nine riverboats – including the Natchez from New Orleans – arrive in town for America’s River Roots Festival.
For Capt. Alan Bernstein of BB Riverboats, it’s also like a trip back in time – to 1988, when he helped organize the first Tall Stacks festival to mark Cincinnati’s bicentennial. Bernstein, along with America’s River Roots spokesperson Kyla Woods, were guests on The Enquirer’s That’s So Cincinnati podcast.
“There has been no other city than Cincinnati, Ohio, that has been able to put on a riverboat festival, bringing boats from as far away as New Orleans and Galveston,” Bernstein said, noting that America’s River Roots will be like “Tall Stacks on steroids.”
Like Tall Stacks, America’s River Roots Festival is tied to a big birthday, the America250 celebration. In addition to the riverboats, which are offering a variety of cruises, the festival will feature food, live music, bourbon tastings – all with a nod toward the Ohio River’s vital role in America’s growth as a young nation. The river also was a focal point for those seeking to escape the bonds of slavery, said Woods, something that festival organizers hope to educate people about through its Freedom Journey smartphone app, now available to download. The GPS-enabled app guides users through important Underground Railroad sites along the river.
“For me as a Black woman, it is very important to emphasize the importance of the river when we think about freedom, and we think about how so many enslaved people were using the river as a means of freedom,” Wood said.
America’s River Roots Festival runs Oct. 8-12. To book cruises, purchase tickets for bourbon tastings and other activities, visit americasriverroots.com.
That’s So Cincinnati, The Enquirer’s weekly podcast on what’s making news in our community, features a who’s who of special guests. Listen to it at Audioboom, Apple or your favorite podcast platform.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: America’s River Roots reminds us how deep our river roots run | That’s So Cincinnati
Reporting by Beryl Love, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
