CINCINNATI — Both sides of the river are set to respect the past while embracing the future.
What You Need To Know
- America's River Roots will take place Oct. 9-12, 2025
- The festival will kick-start the 250th birthday of the U.S.
- It will resemble the Tall Stacks festival, a former Cincinnati tradition that hasn't occurred since 2006
- Three of the 12 steamboats will participate in a race on the water
Organizers from Ohio and Kentucky are preparing for America's River Roots festival along the Ohio River, set for Oct. 9-12, 2025. The event will kick-start America's 250th birthday celebration, which will occur in 2026.
Capt. Alan Bernstein, owner of BB Riverboats in Newport, said his favorite part of his job is what he gets to see.
"You can see what I get to see every day and our passengers get to see every day," he said. "It's a beautiful city, especially from the river.”
Bernstein was on the committee to make this event happen. He said plans have been in the making for years.
"Boats started transporting people, music, food, entertainment; all kinds of things started to happen when people could move," he said as he described Cincinnati's former Tall Stacks festival.
River Roots will do the same. The festival will feature 12 steamboats, food and entertainment featuring award-winning jazz singer Kathy Bridge, plus the Purple People Bridge transforming into a food market.
Bernstein said he can't wait for the city to come alive just as it did during Tall Stack.
"(It was) a magical atmosphere of music, people moving around and people trying to get from Kentucky to Ohio," he said. "It was just a magical time."