CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Tom Jones remembers when you couldn't find a hotel room in town during the Charleston Regatta, when campers lined the bank for 10 days watching the sternwheelers push and race.

Jones runs the Miss Sterling's engine differently these days, since the races have stopped. But he still docks the 82-year-old riverboat at the festival every year, savoring the last sounds and smells of summer in the capital city.

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Suzanne and Andrea Carter (left) chat with Earl and Carol Lindsey at Taste of Charleston.

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After a few years of absence, 10 sternwheelers attended the festivities this year and boaters said they hope to keep brining back the Regatta's river presence in the coming years.

Twenty-five years after his first Regatta, Jones watched Saturday as the crowds filled Haddad Riverfront Park during the festival's largest day.

"It's a different kind of Regatta now," Jones said. "Money's tight these days, and they don't sell beer anymore, but you still see people you haven't seen in six months. The Regatta's for everyone."

By midafternoon, the crowded Boulevard-turned-midway was a blur of whirring carnival rides and concession booths. Attendees shopped at artist stalls and wiped powdered sugar from their fingers as they guided children toward the rides.

The Regatta was "something old" for Jim Baisden, who comes from his home in Culloden every year. But enjoying the Regatta with his wife, Linda, was "something new" this time. The two spent Saturday afternoon browsing the Boulevard in honor of their one-year anniversary Sept. 1.

"You gotta Regatta. You've just gotta Regatta. It brings the love, it brings the happiness, it brings the sunshine," Baisden said.

A couple of emergency workers kept cool during the humid afternoon by enjoying ice cream cones while patrolling the Boulevard. Hundreds of Regatta patrons sought shelter and refreshment in the air-conditioned Civic Center after Taste of Charleston began at noon.

There, they sampled ribs from Famous Dave's and baklava from Sahara Restaurant as couples lined up to participate in the jitterbug competition to the strains of smooth jazz.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Tom Jones remembers when you couldn't find a hotel room in town during the Charleston Regatta, when campers lined the bank for 10 days watching the sternwheelers push and race.

Jones runs the Miss Sterling's engine differently these days, since the races have stopped. But he still docks the 82-year-old riverboat at the festival every year, savoring the last sounds and smells of summer in the capital city.

"I don't think I've ever missed one, since we got the boat in 1983. Even if I was sick, the boat would still be here," Jones said, looking out over the red, 12-foot paddlewheel.

After a few years of absence, 10 sternwheelers attended the festivities this year and boaters said they hope to keep brining back the Regatta's river presence in the coming years.

Twenty-five years after his first Regatta, Jones watched Saturday as the crowds filled Haddad Riverfront Park during the festival's largest day.

"It's a different kind of Regatta now," Jones said. "Money's tight these days, and they don't sell beer anymore, but you still see people you haven't seen in six months. The Regatta's for everyone."

By midafternoon, the crowded Boulevard-turned-midway was a blur of whirring carnival rides and concession booths. Attendees shopped at artist stalls and wiped powdered sugar from their fingers as they guided children toward the rides.

The Regatta was "something old" for Jim Baisden, who comes from his home in Culloden every year. But enjoying the Regatta with his wife, Linda, was "something new" this time. The two spent Saturday afternoon browsing the Boulevard in honor of their one-year anniversary Sept. 1.

"You gotta Regatta. You've just gotta Regatta. It brings the love, it brings the happiness, it brings the sunshine," Baisden said.

A couple of emergency workers kept cool during the humid afternoon by enjoying ice cream cones while patrolling the Boulevard. Hundreds of Regatta patrons sought shelter and refreshment in the air-conditioned Civic Center after Taste of Charleston began at noon.

There, they sampled ribs from Famous Dave's and baklava from Sahara Restaurant as couples lined up to participate in the jitterbug competition to the strains of smooth jazz.

Hours before the kickoff, spectators assembled along Capitol Street to get a good spot for the garish stylings of the Regatta's frenetic Funeral Parade.

Parade marchers dressed in pirate hats, Elvis jumpsuits and one in a Michael Phelps costume complete with Speedo and gold medals, milled around Davis Park with anticipation.  

Parade musicians Travis Riddle and the Bourbon Street Sound and the Down Beat Jazz Band broke into an impromptu rendition of "When the Saints Go Marching In" as parade sponsors, The Great Kanawha River Navy, loaded Mardi Gras beads onto the parade float.

Daniel Pyles paused on the sidewalk before joining the parade to let Wesley Klingler, 6, and his brother Ian, 4, marvel over his intricately reconstructed "Ghostbusters" costume.

"You like something enough when you're younger and you just want to build it when you grow up," Pyles said of the equipment that took him about 6 months to re-create.

The parade struck out between Capitol Street's packed sidewalks, lead off by the Greater Charleston River Rat Navy marching band.

"They know they're going to have fun here. They don't know what kind of fun it is, but they know it's going to be fun," said Chuck Jones, who played trombone for the River Rats. "It's just full of the spirit of a mix of people coming together."

 Back on the river, Jones, the sternwheeler captain, chatted with fellow riverboat owners and the pilots of smaller craft docked along the Kanawha River as workers began setting the stage for Saturday night performers Julia Burton and Jo Dee Messina.

"Tonight, we'll watch the band and there will be friends. We'll have a packed boat and always plenty of drinks," he said.

Reach Kellen Henry at khe...@wvgazette.com">khe...@wvgazette.com or 348-5179.