Before there was the Inner Harbor, before there was San Antonio River Walk, before there was Three Rivers Heritage Trail, there was Riverfront Park.
At the dawn of the 20th century, the people of Harrisburg looked at their riverfront and said, “It stinks.” Literally. The Susquehanna River at Harrisburg was a miasma of sludge washed down from the coal regions and sewage pumped in from the city. People swam in it. Children died from typhoid.
In a pivot that’s still a marvel of civic engagement, Harrisburg citizens latched on to the City Beautiful Movement, led in the Capitol city by publisher J. Horace McFarland and indomitable environmentalist Mira Lloyd Dock. Citizens approved a bond issue to finance a new sewage system. They built a waterside walkway. They landscaped the banks above, installing benches for serene views of the scenery, newly unsullied by industry. A dam completed in 1915 raised water levels just enough to prevent droughts from drying the shallow river to a mud pit.
Even before its resurrection, the river had attracted those interested in water sports and recreation. Now, with cleanup, the Susquehanna was a clean, irresistible draw for those seeking respite from the heat of summer. Crowds flocked to city beaches and frolicked in the river. Children took swimming lessons. Canoeists paddled, sometimes in competitions. Water carnival parades featured floats from Harrisburg department stores. A bathtub race, around 1914, makes us wonder today how they got the heavy things to float.
People flocked to the river “for that distance away from the city life,” says Erik V. Fasick, author of “Harrisburg and the Susquehanna River.” “It felt like you were getting away somewhere, but it was a lot closer than taking the train to the Jersey Shore.”
In 1916, all the beautification projects were complete, and an irregularly scheduled, sort-of-annual Water Carnival got an apropos new name—Kipona, believed to be the Lenni-Lenape word for “sparkling waters.” In those early days, Kipona was little different than a typical day on the river, says Fasick. All those canoe enthusiasts and swimming students took advantage of the chance to show off their skills in competition, in “sort of a track meet in the river.”
“These were events to show off your prowess of using the river,” he says. “The boating, the canoeing—these were all things occurring daily on the river.”
Since then, with occasional breaks, the Labor Day Kipona festival has signaled Harrisburg’s farewell to summer. Featured attractions came and went. Participatory events largely gave way to spectator sports in the 1970s. Today’s Kipona-goers still have water events to watch, but they’re just as likely to be dancing to music, buying artisan jewelry, or viewing a film. As an umbrella event complete with built-in mini-festivals like the Festival of India and the Native American Pow Wow, Kipona has evolved into a celebration of the diversity of life and activities in a river city.
“We try to do a good mixture,” says Megan Roby, the city of Harrisburg’s marketing and events manager. “The interest of Harrisburg neighborhood groups has changed over the years, so while they’re still interested in water activities, they also want the land activities with the picturesque backdrop of Riverfront Park.”
7 Historic Happenings You Never Knew About Kipona
Sure, you know what the word Kipona means. But did you know these quirky facts about Kipona, found in Erik V. Fasick’s “Harrisburg and the Susquehanna River”?
1. Water carnivals were a longtime staple of river life, but the inaugural Kipona, held in 1916, was the first to open competitions to women. Before that, swimming races were “deemed too physically demanding for the fairer sex,” Fasick writes.
2. Kipona celebrated its centennial in 2016, but it wasn’t the 100th event. World War I caused its suspension in 1917 and 1918. Lack of money and volunteers led to its cancellation in 1923, and it was not resumed until 1936. It was canceled in 1941 due to fears of spreading polio and suspended in 1944 and 1945—you know why.
3. Spectator spectaculars over the years have included water skiing shows and a hang glider pulled by a speedboat. Canoe tipping, popular in early Kiponas, was exactly like it sounds—two-man teams trying to tip opponents’ canoes, and their occupants, into the river.
4. The Newspaper Race of 1940 and 1942 featured contestants swimming while reading a newspaper without getting it wet.
5. In the 1940s, children swam in the Peanut Battle Royal, diving into the river to chase peanuts thrown into the water. The 1976 Kipona adapted the idea with tennis balls and kids swimming in inner tubes.
6. Ever heard of “aquaplaning”? Today, we call it wakeboarding. In the 1920s and ‘30s, Kipona-goers thrilled to the exploits of men riding the waves via boards pulled by motorboats. Must have been a great muscle toner, judging from the shapely legs of Harold Pipp, a Harrisburg daredevil pictured aquaplaning on page 109 of “Harrisburg and the Susquehanna River.”
7. The 1972 Kipona, staged only two months after the floods of Tropical Storm Agnes brought devastation to Harrisburg, symbolized the indomitable spirit of a rebuilding city with the theme “Beat Those Agnes Blues.”
12 Things To Do at Kipona this Labor Day Weekend
In a world full of festivals, Kipona stands out for its family friendliness. “It’s a great place to take a stroll along the riverfront, enjoy the product vendors and the activities, and enjoy the food,” says Roby.
Kipona 2017 features some new activities and returning old favorites, all spotlighting Harrisburg’s rich cultural diversity:
1. 21st annual Native American Pow Wow: Long before Europeans settled Penn’s Woods, Native American tribes built their lives around the Susquehanna River. City Island, the mid-river island where the Pow Wow will be held, was “a summer camp where tribes came together and gathered fish,” says Michelle Fry, the Pow Wow organizer who founded the event to honor her Native American heritage. Families have grown up with the Pow Wow, which features music, Aztec fire dancing, storytelling and crafts for kids. “It’s living history,” says Fry.
2. Dick Reese Canoe Races: Since the beginning, Kipona has hosted canoe racing. Today’s canoe races are open to all comers, whether rookies or experts. All contestants paddle in identical canoes in heats classed by age, gender and teams. Contestants can preregister online at ccghpa.com or at Kipona on race days. “It’s fun for the whole family,” says Brian Palmer of the Canoe Club of Greater Harrisburg, sponsor of the races to benefit Inspiring Connections Outdoors, which introduces city children to outdoor adventures. A kayak raffle benefits club instruction programs. “There’s no experience necessary,” says Palmer. “We have people who do it as a lark, and they do fine.”
3. Festival of India: Help push the Ratha Yatra, the traditional chariot that rolls with the colorful processional opening the Festival of India. Taste Indian dishes and learn about Indian culture.
4. Movie screening tent: sponsored by Midtown Cinema.
5. Live acoustic music
6. Beer garden: Offering craft beers from Harrisburg’s Zeroday Brewing Co. and others.
7. Artists’ village: featuring pottery, jewelry, soap, ceramics, photography and other crafts.
8. Zipline: enabling you to soar for 200 feet along State Street, with the Capitol behind you and the river in front.
9. Doggie rest stop: sponsored by Susquehanna Service Dogs and Humane Society of Greater Harrisburg. Four-legged Kipona patrons are treated to water and treats, plus low-cost vaccines and microchipping. Two-legged Kipona-goers can get information on pet adoptions and shop for pet products.
10. Children’s festival
11. Rubber duck race: Returning after a nearly two decades away, the race will send rubber ducks floating down the Susquehanna to benefit Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. It all ties in with Harrisburg’s “Discover the Ducks Downtown” celebration, with oversized, artist-decorated rubber ducks adorning city streets.
12. And, of course, food: “we have some amazing food trucks,” says Roby. Sure, there are festival stalwarts such as French fries and funnel cakes, “but you can also get lobster tail or Italian dishes, or anything you would want.”
Kipona 2017, September 2-4, 2017
Not all events are held all day every day.
Visit harrisburgpa.gov and find Kipona under the specil events tab.
