As boats began to leave Marietta, residents and visitors alike were still basking in the glow of yet another successful annual Ohio River Sternwheel Festival. It’s the kind of event that has been reminding us for nearly 50 years what is so special about our little riverside community.

Perhaps cooler weather helped boost crowd sizes as the number of visitors to downtown swelled.

“The crowd was as good as it has ever been,” said Fireworks Chairman Dennis Blauser.

Sternwheel captains, too, enjoy the festival and sense of community they get from the event each year.

“I’ve been coming here since the early to mid-’70s, when it all started,” said Jarrod Burden, captain of the Jenny B. “We’re here to support the town and appreciate what they do for us. We all gather. We’re all an old community, all of us sternwheel people.”

Those who enjoyed the weekend may have trouble believing Blauser when he says there will be major improvements to the festival ahead of the celebration of both its 50th year and the country’s 250th birthday.

It’s hard to think of ways in which the festival could be improved, but the Mid-Ohio Valley will no doubt support the festival committee’s efforts to do so.

Until then, we thank them for another fantastic festival weekend on the river.