New Martinsville Vintage Regatta partners with Easterseals
Dozens of vintage hydroplane boats will roar along the Ohio River in New Martinsville for the 9th annual New Martinsville Vintage Regatta on Labor Day weekend, Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 5-6. A portion of the event proceeds will benefit the work Easterseals Rehabilitation Center does with Ohio Valley children with disabilities and their families.
New Martinsville has a long history of vintage hydroplane racing, dating to its heyday in the mid-20th century. The modern-day Vintage Regatta brings back the energy and spectacle of these boats racing up and down the river in exhibition style heats.
"Everything about these boats is extreme. Speeds upwards of 140 miles per hour. Power exceeding 1,500 horses. Rooster tails of water spouting 40 feet high. Decibels reaching 130 or more. Some of the drivers and boats are national record holders, and some of those records were set in New Martinsville back in the day," Betsy Bethel-McFarland, Easterseals Director of Marketing and Development, said.
For the second year, the regatta will benefit Easterseals. Easterseals had been the recipient of proceeds from the Wheeling Vintage Raceboat Regatta held on Labor Day weekend for 17 years up the river in Wheeling. When that event ended in 2024, the New Martinsville Vintage Regatta took over the Labor Day slot and picked up the Easterseals connection.
Easterseals will hold a raffle at the regatta with over 40 prizes are up for grabs, including character- and pet-themed baskets, an espresso machine, a Yeti cooler, a camping stove, lottery tickets, local restaurant and store gift cards, Wheeling Symphony and Wheeling Nailers tickets, and more.
The raffle tent will be set up Saturday and Sunday next to the event entrance across from Dos Hermanos Restaurant on North Main Street. Spectators also can try their chances on a 50/50 raffle that benefits Easterseals.
Heats run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, with a lunch break during which people are welcome to visit the pits and take pictures with the boats and drivers. Closed toe shoes are required to enter the pits.
Boaters — most of whom travel from out of state — will register throughout the day on Friday. From 8-10 p.m. Friday, Barista's Cafe will host a regatta kickoff party with the band Mountain Static. On Saturday night from 7-10 p.m., the band Crows Company will perform at Dos Hermanos.
The event also will include food trucks and kids' activities. WesBanco and the Wetzel County Commission are major sponsors.
For more information, visit the New Martinsville Vintage Regatta Facebook page.
People probably don’t realize what kind of impact their donations give to kids on a regular basis. It’s given us limitless potential with Jaxon
How do I set up services? What are your services? How do I donate? Find answers to these questions in this overview article published in the local newspapers in February 2026.
About Easterseals Rehabilitation Center
Easterseals Rehabilitation Center has been creating life-changing solutions for children with disabilities in the Ohio Valley since 1937. Easterseals is a nonprofit outpatient center that
provides pediatric medical services, including physical medicine and medication management; speech, occupational, and physical therapies; comprehensive autism screenings; and child development/early intervention services. These services start with a doctor's referral. We accept all insurances. Thanks to our generous community, no one is ever denied services for inability to pay.
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