The Cincinnati Riverfest (officially the Western & Southern/WEBN Fireworks) is an annual festival that takes place on Labor Day weekend on the Ohio River at

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. It has taken place annually since 1977. The highlight of the event, the

fireworks Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices ...

display at 9:05 PM, is one of the largest in the Midwest.P&G Riverfest in Cincinnati USA.com , The Official Tourism Site of the Cincinnati Region
/ref> The festival's corporate sponsors are

WEBN WEBN (102.7 FM) – branded as 102-7 WEBN – is a commercial mainstream rock radio station licensed to Cincinnati, Ohio, serving Greater Cincinnati. Owned by iHeartMedia, WEBN serves as the FM flagship for the Cincinnati Bengals R ...

(102.7 FM) and

Western & Southern Financial Group Western & Southern Financial Group, also commonly referred to as Western & Southern, is a Cincinnati, Ohio-based diversified family of financial services companies with $111.6 billion in assets owned and managed as of December 2021. As of 2022, it ...

History

The fireworks display was first organized in 1977 to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of rock and roll radio station

. It has now evolved into an all-day event is held every year on the day before Labor Day. Cincinnati Bell sponsored Riverfest from 2007 to 2014, when it was known as the Cincinnati Bell/WEBN Riverfest. In 2020, due to the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, Riverfest was cancelled. However, the fireworks still went on as usual, but in an undisclosed location. It was revealed to be the Kentucky Speedway.

Activities

Riverfest is filled with many activities, including the Rubber Duck Regatta, in which hundreds of thousands of rubber ducks are released into the Ohio River to benefit the

Freestore Foodbank The Freestore Foodbank is the largest emergency food and services provider to children and families in Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana. Background The organization distributes 24 million meals annually to low-income indi ...

. The festival ends with a gathering on the banks of the Ohio River in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

Covington, Kentucky Covington is a home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States, located at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking Rivers. Cincinnati, Ohio, lies to its immediate north across the Ohio and Newport, to its east across the Licking ...

, and

Newport, Kentucky Newport is a home rule-class city at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking rivers in Campbell County, Kentucky. The population was 15,273 at the 2010 census. Historically, it was one of four county seats of Campbell County. Newport is a majo ...

to watch a half-hour fireworks show set to an underscore heard on WEBN. The fireworks are provided by Rozzi's Famous Fireworks Inc. The show attracts nearly 500,000 to the area every year. Over 2,500 boats jam the river to get a front row seat for the show, and the river is patrolled by the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, an agency of the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, is responsible for the conservation of wildlife resources and for boating projects in the state. A commissioner appointed by the ...

Ohio Department of Natural Resources The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) is the Ohio state government agency charged with ensuring "a balance between wise use and protection of our natural resources for the benefit of all." ODNR regulates the oil and gas industry, the m ...

, and local units from Cincinnati and Covington. The river is normally closed between the

Roebling Suspension Bridge The John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge (formerly the Cincinnati-Covington Bridge) is a suspension bridge that spans the Ohio River between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky. When opened on December 1, 1866, it was the longest suspension ...

and the "Big Mac" (

Interstate 471 Interstate 471 (I-471) is a Interstate Highway, linking I-71 in Downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, to I-275 in Highland Heights, Kentucky. South of I-275, the expressway continues south to U.S. Route 27 (US 27) as unsigned Kentucky Route&n ...

) bridge.

References

External links

* *
Rubber Duck Regatta
Festivals in Cincinnati Festivals in Kentucky Ohio River September events 1977 establishments in Kentucky Annual events in Ohio Music festivals established in 1977 Fireworks in the United States 1977 establishments in Ohio {{pyrotechnics-stub