Reggae on the River[Garberville, California|] is an annual reggae festival on the first weekend in August in Humboldt County, California. It began in 1984 as a benefit for the Mateel Community Center, a nonprofit for southern Humboldt County, after an arsonist burnt down the community hall in Garberville. The board members at the time were Nancy Shelby and Carol Bruno who worked with Jack Arthur in organizing the festival to raise money for a new hall. It was held at French's Camp every year until 2006 when financial issues forced the festival to be relocated for the next two years. In 2003 the annual festival celebrated its 20th year. A DVD featuring performances from the anniversary was released. It includes performances by Culture, Toots & the Maytals, Third World, Beres Hammond, Israel Vibration, Anthony B., and the Marley brothers.
2006 Conflict
The 2006 concert brought in far less money than previous years. Due to the move to a new site and the expenses incurred in removing equipment from the old location, the Mateel saw no revenue from the 2006 event. In 2007, the festival was canceled in the wake of a legal battle between the Mateel Community Center, People Productions, and Tom Dimmick, the owner of the property which hosted the festival in 2006. The dispute centered on revenues, with the Mateel questioning why profits estimated by People Productions did not materialize, why there was a discrepancy between the number of tickets approved and reported attendance and $300,000 in cash expenditures with no receipts. In the wake of the cancellation of Reggae on the River, People Productions in conjunction with Tom Dimmick produced their own reggae concert at Dimmick Ranch, which was called "Reggae Rising" and took place at Dimmick Ranch on the usual first weekend in August.
From 2008 the festival had occurred at Benbow Lake StateRecreation Area, in Benbow, Calif., north of the event's original location on the Eel River. In 2013, Reggae on the River returned to its original location at French's Camp and its original time, the first weekend of August.
