Portsmouth River Days

10/04/2026

Beaver Oktoberfest!

09/27/2026

River Days enjoying the Apple Festival!!

09/13/2026

First festival with the Queens! Ohillco Days, Wellston!

09/12/2026

The Portsmouth River Days Pageant is a scholarship pageant!

One of the best things about the River Days Pageant is that each contestant has the ability to be awarded scholarships!

River Days is unlike any other pageant, it’s not just a beauty pageant. It’s a pageant for growth, learning skills, making new friends, and most importantly investing in your future!

Thank you to every scholarship sponsor! Thank you for helping me pave the way for my future! Thank you for your support of the pageant, contestants, and Scioto County as a whole.

🎓$5,000 - Shawnee State University
Each contestant was awarded a $5,000 scholarship to Shawnee!! Thank you for investing in the future of all 12 contestants! Go Bears!!

💪🏼$1,000 - Whatever It Takes Scholarship
This award was sponsored by Kirk Thompson and Herff Jones. This award means so much to me because, if you know me, you know I will always do whatever it takes!!

📣 $500 - School Spirit Award
This award was sponsored by Gail Schmidt! Being a Senator is something I have always been proud of! Being awarded the school spirit scholarship is something that means the world to me! 🧡🖤

🩷 $250 - Backstage Beauty Award
This award was sponsored by Dr. Duncan. I was beyond thankful to be awarded this scholarship! It shows me that I can make an impact on others by shining my light!

🌟$500 - Miss Congeniality!
Sponsored by Melcher Funeral Home. This award means more to me than any crown ever could. When I started this journey being a supporter and making 11 new friends was the thing I was most excited about. Knowing that these girls feel the love I have for them will mean more to me than any crown or sash ever could. I love you girls!

2ND RUNNER-UP SCHOLARSHIPS

👑 $500 - Sponsored by Darren Oliver, Roger Hemming Contractor. Thank you for investing into the River Days Pageant and helping to pave the way for all of us young women!

👑 $700 - Sponsored by Dr. Arrika Mains, SOMC OBGYN. Thank you for supporting River Days and helping us with the next big step in our future!

👑 $100 - Sponsored by The Ritz. Thank you for always being there for each and every contestant year after year! We love you!

Thank you to everyone who sponsored trophy’s, sashes, crowns, and crown boxes❣️

Thank you Chloe Morris, 2025 Miss River Days 2nd Runner Up for sponsoring my trophy as well as my crown! Another than you for being such an amazing role model and leading me throughout this year!

Thank you to Abby Rose Photography for sponsoring my 2nd Runner-Up sash!!

Thank you to Stone Bridge Capital for sponsoring my Miss Congeniality Sash!

Thank you to The Flower Shoppe for sponsoring all of the flowers for pageant night!

Thank you to Kevin Hoops and Impressive Studios for the amazing pictures!

Thank you to Morgan Brothers Jewelers for our charm bracelets!

Thank you to Portsmouth Block for sponsoring my 2nd Place float trophy 🏆

$8,550 dollars invested in my future! Thank you so much!! ❤️

09/12/2026

It has been one week. One week since my friends, family, and community made me feel like the most special person in Wheelersburg.

I waited to share — not only because I’ve been sick and traveling, but because I needed time to truly take it all in. To process the moment, the love that surrounded me, and the incredible honor I was given.

A week later, I’m still overwhelmed with gratitude and still searching for the words to express just how much it all means to me.

So, for now, I’ll let the photos do some of the talking — because some moments are simply worth a thousand words. ❤️🩵👑

09/12/2026

🖤🎡

First festival of the journey!

Not sure what to do this weekend?! Come to Wellston, Ohio tomorrow for the Ohio Hill Country Festival & Parade! The parade begins at 6:30PM.

Hope to see you there!!😉

09/12/2026

❤️🤍💙 Throwing it back to one week ago and the Friends Of Portsmouth River Days Grand Parade! One of our favorite parts of the weekend? THE FLOATS! 👑✨

Months before parade day, our 12 contestants and their families and friends begin working hard to bring their visions to life. From the first sketch to the finishing touches, each float is a labor of love filled with creativity, teamwork and school pride—and somehow, they get better every year!

A huge round of applause for all 12 contestants and everyone who helped create these incredible artistic showpieces. You gave Portsmouth so much to admire and celebrate! ❤️

🏆 Congratulations to our float trophy winners:

🥇 1st Place: Miss Minford, Taylor Cron
🥈 2nd Place: Miss West, Laiken Caudill
🥉 3rd Place: Miss South Webster, Kennedy Hamilton
✨ 4th Place: Miss Wheelersburg, Addison Graf

📸 Special thanks to Impressive Studios for beautifully capturing each contestant’s creation and helping us preserve these special memories!

Here’s to the imagination, dedication and many helping hands behind every float. What a wonderful River Days tradition! 👑

09/09/2026

❤️ That’s a wrap on the 2026 River Days Festival and Queen’s Pageant!

A weekend like River Days may last only a few days, but the work behind it takes months of planning, countless hours and an incredible amount of heart. There are so many moving parts—and without the people and organizations who give so generously of their time, talents and resources, this beloved Portsmouth tradition simply could not happen.

To our Friends of Portsmouth major sponsors and event sponsors: thank you for believing in River Days and investing in our community.

To the River Days Festival Committee, our volunteers and everyone who worked behind the scenes: thank you for every early morning, late night and unseen task that helped make the weekend a success.

A very special thank-you to our festival directors, Meredith Brankamp and Kennedy Wolford. Your leadership, dedication and love for Portsmouth can be felt throughout every part of this festival. We are incredibly fortunate to have you both.

To our Queen’s Pageant Committee and pageant directors Vickie Patrick and Kara Barker: thank you for pouring your time and hearts into creating such a meaningful experience for 12 remarkable young women representing their high schools and communities.

We are also deeply grateful to our pageant scholarship sponsors. Because of your generosity, these young women received more than $100,000 in scholarships to help them pursue their dreams. That is an extraordinary investment in their futures and a beautiful reflection of the community we call home.

Most of all, thank you to everyone who attended, participated, volunteered, performed, competed, cheered and celebrated with us. You are the reason River Days continues to be such a special Portsmouth tradition.

Please remember to support the local businesses that support our festivals and community events. When you shop, dine and spend locally, you are supporting the same generous people who continually step forward to make weekends like this possible.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for an unforgettable 2026 River Days. We’ll see you next year! ❤️🤍💙

09/09/2026

What an incredible group of young women! 👑❤️

This year, 12 outstanding contestants proudly represented their high schools in the 2026 Miss River Days Pageant. Each one brought her own talents, personality and heart to the stage—and each completed an amazing community service project that made a meaningful difference.

We are honored to introduce the 2026 Miss River Days Court:

👑 Miss River Days Queen: Addison Graf, Miss Wheelersburg
✨ First Runner-Up: Taylor Cron, Miss Minford
✨ Second Runner-Up: Laiken Caudill, Miss West

We also congratulate Hayven Carter, Miss Portsmouth, on her third-place finish and Karsyn Dalton, Miss Valley, on her fourth-place finish!

Additional honors were awarded to:

📸 Miss Photogenic: Candace Oudeh, Miss Notre Dame
💐 Miss Congeniality: Laiken Caudill, Miss West

To all 12 contestants: thank you for representing your schools and communities with such grace, dignity and pride. It takes courage to step onto that stage, and each of you gave your school and community so much to be proud of. Your kindness, dedication and commitment to serving others were truly inspiring.

These remarkable young women were also the recipients of more than $100,000 in scholarships, made possible by the incredible generosity of our local businesses and individuals. We are so fortunate to live in a community filled with people who believe in our youth and are willing to invest in their education and futures. To every scholarship sponsor and donor: thank you for helping these young women take the next step toward their dreams. Your generosity will have an impact far beyond this special weekend.

We hope all 12 contestants carry the friendships, memories and confidence gained through this experience with them for years to come. Please join us in celebrating Addison, our new court and every remarkable young woman who made this year’s pageant so special! 👑

Photo Credit: Impressive Studios

09/06/2026

🎶 ONE MORE FULL DAY OF RIVER DAYS FUN! 🎶

Sunday brings children’s activities from Candyland Children’s Museum, the Hot Dog Eating Contest, the introduction of our 2026 Miss River Days Queen and float winners, and the always-exciting Ducky Derby (with a chance to win $1,000-last chance to adopt your ducks)! 👑🌭🦆

Then, close out the weekend with live music from the Josh Stewart Band, Phoenix Rising and Moving in Stereo—a Cars tribute band! 🎶

The midway opens at noon, so save today’s schedule and come spend the final day of River Days with us!

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