Hidalgo Falls River Festival

April 9-10, 2005
Hidalgo Falls on the Brazos River
Near Navasota, Texas

The fourth annual Hidalgo Falls River Festival was held on Saturday-Sunday, April 9-10, 2005 at the TRPA Hidalgo Falls property on the Brazos River near Navasota. About 250 paddlers and spectators attended. Dealer reps and outfitters had boats and gear available for demos on moving water, and some boaters came as early as Thursday to enjoy the nice play levels on the river and to camp in the upstream and downstream campgrounds.

For more photos of the festival, click here.

Events included a 26.5-mile downriver race from Batts Ferry Landing south of College Station to Hidalgo on Saturday morning, a concert on Saturday night featuring the "rockin', swingin', bluesy" sounds of The Snake Charmers from Houston, and on Sunday a whitewater giant slalom race through the islands in the Falls, a whitewater rodeo, and a more leisurely 3.5-mile float trip from Hidalgo to Hwy 105. During the downriver race on Saturday, festival goers can demo different kinds of boats, watch paddling videos, and play in the rapids. A festival t-shirt is included in the $12 festival admission fee; children under 12 are admitted free. Registration for the TCRA downriver race on Saturday costs $20 before March 24; after that date registration is $25. The registration fee includes admission to the festival site, the concert, camping, and a special racer version of the festival t-shirt.

For a map of the giant slalom race, click here.

Directions to Hidalgo Falls: http://people.tamu.edu/~sdaniel/location.html

To get into the TRPA property, you normally have to meet someone at the locked gate or be certified (and thus get the gate combination). We will meet visitors at the gate when they arrive.

Here are some pictures (courtesy: Skip Morris) from this year's festival:

The "Snake Charmers" on Saturday Night Path to the rapid

rodeo crowd

Crowd watching the Whitewater Rodeo

Rodeo participants wait for a shot on the wave Wavewheel

Slalom racers thread through the islands

Highlights:

Saturday, April 9

9:00 a.m.: "Cornfields and Cottonmouths" race from Batts Ferry to Hidalgo
8:00 - 10:00 p.m.: The Snake Charmers from Houston in concert

Sunday, April 10

9:00 a.m.: Independence Trail Fun Float, any boat, Hidalgo Falls to Hwy 105 (3.5 miles)
11:00 a.m.: Smokin' Salmon Slalom
2:00 p.m.: Whitewater Rodeo
5:00 p.m.: Awards Ceremony and Live Auction

Throughout Saturday and Sunday

Kayak clinics with the Carolina Bad Boys, Woody Calloway (liquidlogic kayaks) and Tracy Clapp (Astral Buoyancy)
Kayak and canoe instruction by ACA certified instructors; call 281-292-5600 to pre-register
Continuous whitewater film festival and music
Free kayak demos
Whitewater store
Book signings: click here.
For pictures of the 2003 festival, click here.
For information on the 2005 festival, contact the following people:
Saturday downriver race: Charles Lewis (calewis@valornet.com)
Sunday float trip: James Williams 979-776-5530 (no email)
Slalom race and whitewater rodeo: Bruce Litton (b.litton@earthlink.net)
Exhibits, demos, and classes: Patti Carothers (swpaddle@swbell.net)
Overall coordination: Steve Daniel (sdaniel@people.tamu.edu)
Information about the location of Hidalgo Falls, TRPA ownership, pictures, etc. can be found at the Hidalgo Falls website:
http://people.tamu.edu/~sdaniel/hidalgo.html
Free primitive camping is available at the TRPA property (limited toilet and water facilities available). For information on Navasota motels, contact Steve Daniel.