Thousands expected at 29th annual Riverfest

WILMINGTON — Thousands of festival goers are expected to descend on downtown Wilmington for the 29th annual Riverfest. With all those people comes a whole lot of business for the area.

This annual three day festival promises to be fun for all. With crowds of festival-goers flocking to Wilmington, it also promises to good for business.

Lee Nettles with the Visitor’s Bureau said, “Riverfest is great for the area, it obviously has a tremendous economic impact for the businesses in downtown as well as the area as a whole. It brings a lot of visitors from out of market and it’s another reason for locals to come on down and enjoy all of what the city has to offer.”

Many say this festival is something they look forward to all year.

Topsail resident Richard Terrell said, “It’s one of the events that nobody wants to miss. It’s going to be all of the old cars here that everybody loves, all of the singing and the dancing and the food, it’s just something, a good place to go. And I’m glad we got Wilmington.”

Carol Selover is visiting from Durham along with her sister Maureen Handon, who’s down from New York. This is their first time taking in what Wilmington has to offer.

Nettles says every festival gets better and better. “It’s a successful event and we look forward to it every year.”

The festival kicks off with the battle of the river featuring live bands.