Farmington Riverfest returns with music, rafting and family fun

Riverfest turned the Animas River trails from Berg Park to Animas Park into a free, three-day stretch of music, rafting and family activities in Farmington, with Friday night’s kickoff centered at River Reach Terrace and the rest of the festival spreading across the river corridor.

The May 22-24, 2026 festival opened Friday at River Reach Terrace only, where organizers held a VIP donor-and-sponsor event along with a beer and wine garden and live music. Saturday and Sunday brought the broader lineup: the Riverfest Fun Run, with 10K, 5K and 2-mile walk options, live music, a fine art show, kids’ activities, river rafting and the festival’s signature oddball races.

Desert River Guides handled the rafting, with life jackets and professional guides provided. The Riverfest Duck Race promised $2,000, $1,000 and $500 cash prizes, while the wiener dog races charged $10 per dog and sent proceeds to Noon Day Civitan. The fine art show was hosted by the Northwest New Mexico Arts Council, and the Riverfest Express shuttle, provided free by Red Apple Transit, ran Saturday and Sunday to help move people along the route.

The River Reach Foundation, which organizes Riverfest, said it was established in September 1986 after a regional river study. The inaugural Riverfest followed that same year, part of the foundation’s effort to draw attention to the Animas and San Juan rivers as a central community resource in a city where much of New Mexico’s surface water passes through. The foundation works with the City of Farmington Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department, San Juan County, the Farmington Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Farmington Chamber of Commerce, watershed and boating groups, and outdoor recreation entrepreneurs.

Farmington city officials said Riverfest has become a regional tradition that brings thousands of residents and visitors together each Memorial Day weekend to celebrate the rivers, trails and community spirit that define the city. In a 2025 interview, organizer Kristin Ottak said, “We’ve gone from a small gathering of Farmington locals to an event that drew 29,000 people last year.” That scale made Riverfest less a single event than a test of how Farmington uses its signature festival to animate the riverfront, draw visitors downtown and keep local recreation at the center of civic life.