By Stan Welch
The Saluda River rally, held at the Dolly Cooper Park in Powdersville, continued its growth as a kayaking event, drawing hundreds of people over the course of the two day event. In addition to kayakers and canoeists aplenty, there were vendors selling food, archery and fishing gear, as well as a succession of live entertainment.
The event has grown in just a few years from a local get together to an event that attracts outdoors enthusiasts from all over the country. Also prominent are disabled or physically challenged boaters. The boat launch is one of a very few in the Southeast, and allows disabled boaters to enter and exit the water on their own.
District Six County Councilman Ken Waters was on hand again this year, helping to ferry kayaks and canoes from the staging area to the launch ramp and back. “This is such a great event, which helps showcase our community and also brings visitors, and their wallets, to Anderson County and Powdersviille. The hard work that all these volunteers do is just amazing.”
John Harvin, of the Powdersville Business Council, a local subsidiary of the Easley Chamber of Commerce, agreed. “This kind of exposure is great for our local merchants, and can help us continue to develop the more traditional recreational uses for the park, like the ball fields and soccer venues.” Harvin, along with some teenaged volunteers he brought along, also helped shuttle the boats back and forth.
