Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the American River Parkway Foundation’s “Down River Day” will bring hundreds of rafters together for a fun-filled ride down the American River on Saturday. The event will serve as a fundraiser for the foundation’s stewardship programs.

The festivities start at River Bend Park in Rancho Cordova (formerly Goethe Park) Saturday morning, where participants will be picked up by bus and taken down Sunrise Boulevard where American River Raft Rentals will have boats on shore and ready to board. Rafts will depart around noon and return to River Bend close to 2:30 p.m.

“We supply them with drinks, water guns and anything they could possibly need,” said Christina Neifer, office manager of the foundation. “We have a meal that is catered by a referred chef, and we have two bands playing this year. And we’re going to have a drawing for some different prize packages as well as a lot of dancing and entertainment.”

Two Rivers Cider Company and Vic's Ice Cream will serve their treats to all who participate in the fundraiser.

This year’s rafting fundraiser will have a '70s theme, which encourages participants to dress the part, with T-shirts being handed out. A prize will be given to the best-decorated raft matching the theme.

“Since it’s our 25th year, everything is really well-planned at this point,” Neifer said. “We have a ton of volunteers helping us out, and I feel this is going to be a great year for the event.”

Information on registration and raft purchasing can be found at arpf.org