This weekend’s beautiful weather brought out around 20,000 people to the Moraine State Park Regatta

The regatta looks to show off the parks’ eco-recreational activities for all ages on land and on Lake Arthur. There are nature experiences and community vendors, so there is something for everyone who attends.

There were fly-fishing lessons; an open paddle; yoga classes; hikes; sailing classes by the Moraine Sailing Club; fishing demonstrations with the Sea Scouts Ship 5168, based out of Portersville; rock climbing, presented by the Pennsylvania National Guard; archery, presented by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; a 5K; and the Lake Arthur Sailing Club Boat Parade.

Butler County is incredibly lucky to have both the park and Lake Arthur as a resource and an outlet for outdoor recreation. To also have such a long-standing regatta event that draws thousands to the area each summer is an amazing bonus.

The benefits to the community are hard to completely quantify.

It’s not just the tourism dollars it brings to the area, though that is nothing to sneeze at. Butler County has its fair share of events that accomplish that feat fairly regularly. Bringing visitors to hotels, restaurants and other businesses is something the county seems to have no trouble doing.

But the regatta is more than an opportunity to boost the county’s economic situation.

Simply having such an event in our backyard, having the resources available to us at the park, is something we should not take for granted. Many other areas are nowhere near as blessed as we are in terms of our outdoor spaces. Some towns are lucky to have a trickle of a creek bed running through and have to drive a considerable distance to enjoy the water. Others have to take quite a drive to take a hike.

If it seems like there are an enormous amount of activities available at the regatta — too many to explore in a weekend — that’s because there are, but the good news is that most of those adventures are just waiting for us all year.

— KL