Celebrate the lifeblood of our community!

Join the Kenai Watershed Forum in celebrating the Kenai River through free, family fun at the annual Kenai River Festival.

KWF Education Zone

The River Festival Education Zone is busting with free, hands-on fun for the entire family on festival Friday and Saturday.  Learn about the river and get a chance to win a raffle prize through trivia, arts & crafts, storytelling and more!

KWF Education Zone Hours
Friday: 3pm-6pm
Saturday: 11am-6pm

Alaskan Artisans Market

The annual festival is a party for the Kenai River but also a river protection celebration.  The festival draws a wide array of attendees with 8,000+ people attending from all over Southcentral Alaska and beyond.  This is our opportunity to celebrate our lifeblood and share ways to protect it.

With this spirit in mind, the festival offers the Alaskan Artisans Market as well as a variety of food vendors.

Festival Food Booths

Satiate your sweet tooth or satisfy your hunger with food vendors from across the state right in the heart of the festival.

Live Music

Pack up the kids and leave the dog at home–It’s time to rock out for the river!

The Kenai Watershed Forum presents a variety of free, live music to celebrate the health of the Kenai River all festival weekend.  Bring a chair and your dancing shoes for music to suit everyone’s tastes.  The 2-day music festival will include a variety of music styles including rock and roll, country, blues, bluegrass and more.

Friday: 5pm-10pm
Saturday: 4:30pm-10pm

Run for the River

Run for the River is part of the annual Kenai River Festival, a free family event geared towards fun and inspiration.  The proceeds from the race help support the Festival and the environmental programs of the Kenai Watershed Forum.  Runners and walkers of all ages will enjoy this multi-turn, looped 5K and 10 Mile course that is routed along the famous Kenai River.

Registration: 8am
10 Mile Race Start: 8:30am
5K Race Start:  9am
Virtual Run:  ALL DAY!

Friday: Runners feed from 5pm-6pm
Saturday: Race begins at 8am

Beer Garden

The Kenai River Festival Beer Garden will open on festival Friday and Saturday at 5pm and will be serving until 10pm.

Enjoy a selection of locally crafted beer and wine from Alaskan breweries in close proximity to the Kenai River and the main stage.  Adults, 21 years of age and older with valid identification, will be allowed to enter the Beer Garden.

Please drink responsibly.

KWF’s proceeds from the Beer Garden go directly toward our mission of working together for healthy watersheds on the Kenai Peninsula.

Festival Recycling

The festival draws 8,000+ attendees each year and that can result in a lot of waste headed to our landfill.  Part of river protection is being a good land steward because what happens on the land impacts the waters.

In the spirit of river protection, the festival has taken steps to lighten our impact through recycling and composting.  We invite the community to help us lighten our impact by putting waste items in the corresponding containers.

Date: Friday, June 9, 2023 - Saturday, June 10, 2023

Hours:

Friday: 3:00pm - 10:00pm
Saturday: 11:00am - 10:00pm

Location: Soldotna Creek Park - 251 States Ave, Soldotna, AK 99669

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