The Riverside Community Sailing Program hosts its annual Riverside Regatta on Saturday at Lake Evans in Fairmount Park, with free public viewing from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Youth sailors will race first at 4 p.m., followed immediately by a donor and council race featuring local sponsors and Councilmember Steve Hemenway.
The event marks the unofficial start of the nonprofit's six-week summer season, which offers sailing instruction to Riverside youth ages 10 to 17. Classes run Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., beginning Monday, June 8, and wrapping up July 31. The weekly fee is $125, and scholarships are available.
Spectators can watch from the shore of Lake Evans or head inside the Izaak Walton Building for a closer view of the action. Organizers will have chairs and tables set up, a race announcer, and door prizes. Trophies are awarded at the end of the regatta.
Donor skippers competing this year represent several Riverside-area organizations: Riverside East Rotary , the Exchange Club, Kiwanis of Riverside, Arrowhead Power and Sail Squadron, Corona Chevron, DANA, and Victoria Avenue Forever.
The Riverside Community Sailing Program has operated almost continuously since 2008, when then-Councilmember Mike Gardner helped form the nonprofit after the city had planned to demolish the old sailboat house at Fairmount Park. The all-volunteer program has since taught more than 1,000 students to sail on 8-foot sabot sailboats on Lake Evans, partnering with the Riverside Community Park and Community Services Department.
More information: Parents interested in enrolling a child in summer classes can find registration forms, rules, and guidelines at riversidesailing.org under the "Sailing classes for 2026" tab.
