BANGOR, Maine — You can watch our full replay on our YouTube channel.
Race day is here! The 54th Annual Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race went off today, but with changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The water level was low, but people had a blast anyway.
Bangor Parks and Rec Director Tracy Willette said one of the changes includes spectators not being allowed at the starting area or the bridge and the area near six-mile falls.
Willette said they also had to reduce the number of race classes from 24 down to seven to keep the participant numbers lined up with the state gathering mandates. He said the seven classes they selected are from the most popular race classes over the years.
2021 Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race Live Stream
"The other big change we made this year as I mentioned, was no race day activities”, Willette said. “Participants will be coming in the weeks prior to the race at our office at Parks and Recreation to pick up all their race materials before the race that Saturday. So, really the only race day activity this year is for those who are going to be starting and participating in the race.”
Kenduskeag race director Debbie Gendreau said, "Instead of having 1000 racers, we brought it down to the max of 360, but that’s in addition to the four different race times [we have] so people get there at different times of the day."
Racers this year will also need to wear face coverings to and from their boats.
You can find all your race day information from the Bangor Parks and Rec website.