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Wheeling Gearing Up for Labor Day Weekend Events

Derek Redd (File)

WHEELING -- Festivities on land, in the air and on the water will be available for folks in the Ohio Valley during Labor Day weekend. The holiday will be filled with fun, as staple events like the Wheeling Vintage Raceboat Regatta and Oglebay Park's Fort Henry Days will run along with skydiving displays, fireworks and foam parties.

A Record Regatta

With a record-breaking 60 boats registered, the 18th Wheeling Vintage Raceboat Regatta will be the largest edition of the event yet. Boats will begin to line Heritage Port on Friday in preparation for the opening ceremony at 9:45 a.m. the next morning.

Races will run from kick-off until noon Saturday, with a break in between for attendees to grab a bite to eat from event vendors. Races will begin again shortly after the lunch hour and continue until 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. The schedule will remain the same on Sunday.

Regatta Co-Director Debbie Joseph recommends visitors arrive before the late afternoon as sometimes the races finish up early. She also encourages guests to come to the pit when it is open to the public during the lunch hour, as the first 100 visitors will receive a poster decorated with the participating boats.

Participants will come to Wheeling from all over the country, as racers from Florida, Vermont, New Hampshire, Michigan and Wisconsin will hit the waters next weekend.

Despite the distance that usually separates competitors, Joseph described the atmosphere when they unite at the regatta as "that great feeling of spending the whole weekend with a bunch of family members."

"We're a tight-knit community, so we know what's going on in each other's lives if someone's sick or somebody had a new baby," added Joseph. "The opportunity to get 60 of our teams together to just spend the weekend together is just wonderful."

Jeff "Nemo" Buckley, Chairman of the American Power Boat Association's Vintage and Historic Division, echoed this sentiment. He cited "the camaraderie" between the racers as his favorite part of the event.

He added that the Wheeling Vintage Race Boat Regatta is a "must-attend" event for APBA members because it is the largest vintage and historic racing event in the country.

"This event is not only a milestone for our group but also a milestone for Wheeling," noted Buckley. "The regatta brings a facet of entertainment to the city that rarely exists in our country."

Attendance numbers for the event are projected to reach record highs, with the regatta bouncing back from two cancellations in a row. In 2020, the event was nixed due to COVID-19, and in 2021, the event had to be shut down four days before its start because of high river waters from Hurricane Ida.

"Last year, I was really hoping we would break the record for participants, but we tied the record with 52 boats in the races," said Joseph. "We're already exceeding that number this year in registrations, so I feel pretty certain we should break that record."

Joseph attributes this boost in the event's popularity to the dedication of the Regatta's committee, along with the assistance they receive from their sponsor, WesBanco.

A major issue the committee had to contend with this year was how boats could be driven down Main Street while construction has reduced traffic in areas to one lane.

"Last year, the roads weren't in good shape, and this year, they're worse," said Joseph. "So I have already been in touch with the West Virginia Department of Highways, who has been tremendously helpful to us."

Joseph explained that the WVDH was able to "clean up" a curb on Main Street for the boats by removing orange barrels and other obstacles to open up an area on the road. If traffic becomes too backed up, this area can hold the boats when they enter the city on Thursday and Friday.

Managing these different aspects of the event requires an amount of foresight and effort that can often make the committee's days "frustrating and exhausting," Joseph admitted. However, the part of the event she always remembers is how "rewarding and exhilarating" it is to see their hard work pay off when the event runs smoothly.

"When I lay on the couch all day next Monday, I'll be thinking about how great it was to bring people from so far away to see how great Wheeling is," Joseph added. "Even with all the road traffic and construction, visitors will see this is a truly great city."

A Gateway To The Past

Another community that will unite on Labor Day is the Fort Henry Living History Group, whose members will bring Wheeling's frontier history to life during Fort Henry Days.

Dozens of historical re-enactors portraying 18th-century settlers, military and natives will set up camp and live for the weekend at Site 1 in Oglebay Park. During this time, they will demonstrate period-correct crafts, entertainment and everyday subsistence.

The nonprofit's goal is to teach the general public what life in Wheeling was like during the tumultuous times of the American Revolution. No cell phones or modern technology will be in sight at the event, so the volunteer staff members can keep the environment as historically authentic as possible.

The highlight of Fort Henry Days this year will be a re-enactment of the battle of 1782 and Betty Zane's famous powder run that saved the fort's inhabitants at 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Faith Schanks, who will play Betty Zane, explained that the re-enactors strive for a high level of authenticity because they want to address any historical misconceptions.

"When people come to this event, they often think back then people looked like a pilgrim or were in the Victorian era with no in-between," she said. "The colonial era was completely different from that, so it's very important for me to keep my performance authentic because there are so many misconceptions."

Schanks began participating in Fort Henry Days when she was 9, playing frontierswoman Mary Jemison. She added that an important aspect of the weekend for her is getting younger people interested in history, as she is still one of the youngest actors in the event at age 16.

"For me, I want to teach and educate younger people about these things while also inspiring them to get involved so the event can continue in the future," she said. "Participating in this year after year has inspired me to go into the museum field, and I hope I can inspire kids to become interested in history as well."

Shanks also treasures the tight-knit community of reenactors the event has brought her. Her mother, Holly Shanks, the executive Director of Fort Henry Days, added that one of her favorite parts of the event is the reenactors gathering around a fire together after the first day on Saturday and catching up with one another.

"It's a special time because we reminisce on all the tears and frustration that went into putting the event together," said Holly Shanks. "It's all worth it in the end because I get to spend more time with my daughter and all the other great people that make this event happen."

Plenty More To Do

Those two events aren't the only ones families can enjoy during the weekend. Oglebay Park has put together a wide variety of celebrations for people of all ages.

On both Saturday and Sunday, the Pine Room will host the annual Woodcarvers Show. For those two days, woodcarvers from across the region will display their talents.

The Crispin Center outdoor pool will pit dads against each other at 2 p.m Saturday in a Dads Belly Flop competition. Then Schenk Lake will host a foam party from 5-7 p.m. Saturday, giving the young and young at heart a chance to jump in some suds. As soon as that party ends at 7 p.m., Americana Skydiving will drop in on everyone still at Schenk Lake from a height of 12,000 feet.

There will be some powerful music leading into an explosive display at Oglebay on Sunday. The Wheeling Symphony Orchestra will pair with Jeans N' Classics to perform the music of James Bond at the "Music Under the Stars" concert at the park's Anna Kuchinka Amphitheater at 7 p.m. Festivities will conclude Sunday at dusk with the Labor Day Fireworks Extravaganza at Schenk Lake.