This year's festival is proudly
brought to you by Stoke




COUNTDOWn to the festival
2023 marks the 75th
anniversary of FIBArk, the nation's oldest whitewater festival and Salida's signature event. Since 1949, every June during the Spring snow runoff, Salida has hosted FIBArk, "First in Boating on the Arkansas."
BROUghT TO YOU BY

plan your visit
MUST-SEE EVENTS

HOOLIGAN RACE
Calling this a whitewater paddling event may be generous, but saying it is one of the most fun events of FIBArk would be right on. The Hooligan Race is open to anything that floats that’s not a boat. Hooligans dress up in costume and the winner is usually not just the fastest but often one of the few left standing, or, floating. This spectacle of “controlled chaos” is a local tradition that always produces a huge turnout. Don’t miss it!
heart of the rockies rampage

skatEBOARDING competition
Heart of the Rockies Rampage sponsored by World Cup Skateboarding, Chaffee County Community Foundation, City of Salida, and FIBArk. This world-class skateboarding competition will begin with groms and end with visiting pros from around the world competing for a purse prize. Categories also include amateurs, women's, and master's divisions.
WATCH THE ACTION
A FIBArk History
FIRST IN BOATING ON THE ARKANSAS

The FIBArk boat races started June 19, 1949 when six boats entered the Arkansas River in Salida on their treacherous 57 mile run to Canon City through the vertical cliffs of the Royal Gorge Canyon. Fueled by the spring snow pack runoff from the mountains of the Continental Divide and 5 or 6 feet above normal level, the river water ripped down the canyon creating tremendous currents and boiling rapids where the valley walls narrow and the river floor drops.