CINCINNATI — Organizers for the upcoming America's River Roots festival have unveiled the riverboats that will be featured at the 2025 event.
America's River Roots will celebrate music, culture, food and more to kick off America's 250th anniversary.
On Monday, Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval, Covington Mayor Joe Meyer and Newport Mayor Tom Guidugli Jr. joined festival organizers to introduce the riverboats that will be featured at the festival, which is being held from Oct. 8-12, 2025.
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“America’s River Roots will showcase the Ohio River and its vital role in our nation’s history while promoting cultural tourism in what promises to be a unique and memorable five days for the Cincy region,” said Rick Greiwe, event co-chair.
There will be nine riverboats featured along the banks of the Ohio River for the festival:
- Steamboat NATCHEZ from the port of New Orleans
- Belle of Louisville and the Mary M. Miller from the port of Louisville
- Celebration Belle from the port of Moline, Illinois
- Belle of Memphis from the port of Memphis
- Three Rivers Queen from the port of Pittsburgh
- Anson & Betsey Northrup from the port of Minneapolis/St. Paul
- Belle of Cincinnati and River Queen from the port of Cincinnati
Organizers said there will be roughly 200 experiences on the riverboats throughout the festival. Eight of the options include a brunch cruise, lunch cruise, dinner cruise, late night cruise, riverboat race cruise, parade cruise, sight-seeing cruise and a family sight-seeing cruise.
For those interested in any of the cruise options, tickets are available and on sale here. Tickets begin at $40 per person.
Other than introducing the riverboats, Pureval, Meyer and Guidugli invited the mayors of the visiting riverboats to join in the festival's celebrations.
Pureval invited Louisville Mayor Craig Greenburg to join him in a riverboat race between the Belle of Louisville and the Belle of Cincinnati. Meyer invited Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter to participate in a race of their respective riverboats. For the last race, Guidugli invited Memphis Mayor Paul Young for a race between the River Queen and Belle of Memphis.
Additional programming for the festival will be announced throughout 2025. The festival is set to include performances on multiple stages from both nationally recognized and emerging artists, culinary attractions from celebrity chefs, bourbon and beer tastings, educational programs and more.
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