Dover-Foxcroft Kiwanis’ 51st Piscataquis River Race set for Saturday
DOVER-FOXCROFT — The 51st annual Kiwanis Club of Dover-Foxcroft Piscataquis River Race is set for Saturday, April 26 from Guilford to Dover-Foxcroft.
Sponsored by Dover-Foxcroft Kiwanis Charities, Inc., the race starts at King Cummings Park in Guilford and paddlers will head approximately 9.5 miles down the Piscataquis River to the finish line located across West Main Street from Foxcroft Academy. Registration is 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. and the Piscataquis River Race starts promptly at 10 a.m.
The race will be livestreamed by the Piscataquis County Emergency Management Agency on its Facebook page.
Every person entering the race will receive a commemorative 51st Piscataquis River Race T-shirt and boat decal. There are 18 racing and recreational classes including open speed class for any paddled craft with any number of paddlers, single kayaks and canoes for men and women, two-person kayaks and canoes for men and women, two-person canoes for junior/senior (one paddler age 16 or under) and the Ancient Mariners (two persons with a combined age over 100).
UNDER AN HOUR — The 2-person kayak team of Timothy Johnston and Orion Fleming had the day’s fastest time during the Kiwanis Club of Dover-Foxcroft’s 50th annual Piscataquis River Race from King Cummings Park in Guilford to the finish line in Dover-Foxcroft across West Main Street from Foxcroft Academy in 2024. Johnston and Fleming finished the approximate 9.5-mile paddle in a time of 57 minutes, 23 seconds. The 2025 race will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 26.
There is a first-place trophy for the winner of each class and ribbons for second and third place. There are also challenge classes including couples challenge (one male, one female), Key Club/High School challenge (two high school students), corporate/public service challenge kayaks and corporate/public service challenge canoes.
There is one large first-place trophy per challenge class. The names for the fastest kayak and fastest canoe will be added to the Bob Darling trophy.
This race is a major fundraiser for the Kiwanis Club of Dover-Foxcroft which raised $12,000 last year and close to $400,000 since this event was originally started 51 years ago. Proceeds of the race are used for a wide variety of charities supported by the Kiwanis Club. A few of these activities include, but are not limited to, food backpacks for children, Thayer Parkway, YMCA swim program, Boy Scout Troop 100, Key Club, Terrific Kids, Heartwise, Dover-Foxcroft homecoming, food cupboards, Christmas giving project and scholarships for Foxcroft Academy graduates.
BOB DARLING MEMORIAL TROPHY — Doris Darling, third from left, presented the Bob Darling Memorial Trophy to the fastest canoes and kayaks in honor of her late husband during the 2024 Dover-Foxcroft Kiwanis Piscataquis River Race as paddlers traveled about 9.5 miles from Guilford to Dover-Foxcroft. The fastest kayak was Timothy Johnston and Orion Fleming with a time of 57 minutes, 23 seconds. The fastest canoe was paddled by Chip Loring, Mark Ranco, Rod McLain, Alden Thiban and Damon Galipo with a time of 58:46.
The Kiwanis Club of Dover-Foxcroft is grateful for the generous support of the corporate and business sponsors. The Club is always looking for additional sponsors so the Dover-Foxcroft Kiwanis Charities, Inc. is able to help more children and more people in the community.
To register and get more information, go to https://doverfoxcroftkiwanis.org/fundraiser-piscataquis-river-race.
Raffle tickets are also available for cash prizes to be drawn after the race.
CLASS WINNER — Ray Wirth nears the finish line of last year’s Dover-Foxcroft Kiwanis Piscataquis River Race as he earned top honors in the racing one-person kayak, long (wildwater hull) K-1 class at 61 minutes, 32 seconds.