Come August, Rock The River Cincinnati Fun Run organizers, Pat Feldhaus, his brother, Matt, and their friend Michael Caligari will produce their seventh annual event on the Ohio River. The Rock The River Cincy affair has grown strongly since the trio began organizing and hosting it. The event is now a bonafide hit with a national following.
Rock The River Cincinnati Fun Run organizers Pat Feldhaus, Michael Caligari and Matt Feldhaus refuse to let their event get stagnant.
A record 33 sponsors are inked. The response was so strong that the organizers had to close sponsor registration, which attracted new-backers Skater Powerboats and Kentucky-based Unlimited Marine in addition to longtime marine industry supporters including Formula Boats and Sunsation Boats, a few days after it opened.
In 2025, the event drew a record-setting 140 boats and more than 600 participants. Backed by Huber Construction, a local business, last year’s Friday night street party in Covington, Ky., boasted a live band and delighted hundreds of attendees.
“I know it’s not ‘boating,’ but the street party is my favorite part of the event,” Pat Feldhaus admitted, then laughed.
So you might think their strategic/planning work is complete, that the trio can simply coast and repeat a proven formula.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
“You’d think it would get easier over time, but you can’t let an event become stagnant,” Feldhaus explained. “So we always are trying to improve thing and make them a little different.
“We trying to fix the lunch situation at Lighthouse Point Yacht Club so that people don’t have to wait so long for food—that’s one of the things we’re working on,” he continued. “We’re working on having the food ready—we may bring in a taco truck or having a pig roast—when people get there. We’re also going to have the Saturday night dinner at Manhattan Marina, our host venue, catered this year.”
The dedicated volunteer organizer, who like his teammates runs his own business, paused and chuckled.
“It’s difficult to keep 600 people fed and happy,” he said.
Feldhaus and company do not want to cap registration, which opens May 1, for the August 21-22 event. But last year’s turnout stretched the trio, their locations and their resources to their limits.
Right-sizing the event is tricky, especially given Rock The River Cincy’s well-earned reputation for being an all-inclusive, welcoming affair.
“We are hoping for 120 boats,” Feldhaus admitted. “We don’t want turn anyone away, but there is a limit to how many people we can accommodate. That is our biggest challenge.”