ATHOL — Timed with the April 9 River Rat Race, the North Quabbin Community Coalition is organizing an alternative event designed for families and people in recovery from addiction.
The Selectboard approved a permit earlier this month for a “sober family block party,” which will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. near the bandstand at Fish Park at the corner of Walnut and Maple streets.
Speaking on behalf of the coalition, Executive Director Heather Bialecki-Canning told the board that Fish Park would be a “really wonderful setting” for the event.
“We’re looking for alternatives on River Rat day for families and folks in recovery, and anyone in the community who’s really looking for a sober, family-friendly time,” she said. “We have a band who has offered their time and services to come. We have a wonderful group of volunteers from our Parent Advisory Council who are helping the coalition to put this together, and I just think it’s going to be a really good time.
“It gives folks a free alternative to things like the carnival, because it doesn’t take long — if you play the games like I do — for your money to run out,” Bialecki-Canning continued. “We plan to be there from 1 to 5 that day to help folks who were at the beginning of the race to walk on over to Fish Park and keep them in Athol, or folks in Orange who are at the end of the race to come on over.”
She said the block party is an extension of coalition efforts in recent years to add “a more family, community-oriented” atmosphere to River Rat Race festivities. The event is for people of all ages.
“It’s sponsored by the coalition,” she noted, “but it’s really put together by our Parent Advisory Council, which is made up of 14 diverse parents from across the entire North Quabbin region, looking for alternatives for families to really have fun, feel connected to their community. Everything is free and open to all.”
Billy Goat Boats of Orange is also a sponsor of the block party. In addition to live music, the event will feature a variety of games, s’mores, snacks and a door prize giveaway.
While the family-friendly block party will be a new addition to River Rat Race weekend, most old favorites will be returning as well.
On Friday, April 8, a spaghetti supper will be held at the American Legion from 5 to 7 p.m.
The River Rat Race post position drawing will also take place on April 8. It will be held at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, not Silver Lake Park as originally planned.
A pancake breakfast will get things started on Saturday, April 9. It will be served at the Masonic Hall from 7 to 9 a.m.
The Big Cheese 5K road race, sponsored by the Athol Area YMCA, follows. Runners will step off from the starting line on School Street at the intersection with Prospect Street at 9:30 a.m. The course winds through downtown Athol before finishing in front of Town Hall. Results will be announced and awards presented in the YMCA gymnasium at 10:30 a.m.
The River Rat Race Parade, sponsored by the North Quabbin Chamber of Commerce, begins immediately following the start of the Big Cheese 5K at around 9:35 a.m.
For those who do not attend Friday night’s drawing of post positions, their positions can be picked up from 8 to 11 a.m. at Elsewhere, located at 1485 Main St. in Athol.
The Athol Lions Club will offer breakfast sandwiches and lunch items from its food booth across from the bridge where the River Rat Race begins. The booth is open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The big event gets underway following pre-race announcements and the national anthem. The starting cannon will be fired at 1 p.m.
Registration, which closes April 6, costs $42 per canoe. To register, visit riverratrace.com/register or drop by Elsewhere at 1485 Main St. in Athol.
The first River Rat Race, which featured all of a dozen canoes, was held on March 21, 1964. It was won by Art Foran and Sonny Soucie. The canvas canoe they paddled to victory can be seen at the Orange Historical Society.
Each year the Art Foran/Sonny Soucie Award is presented to the team that passes the most canoes. Other than the champions trophy, it is the most prestigious award in the River Rat Race.
Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.