T-L Photos/GAGE VOTA Chippewa Lake Water Ski Show Team forms a human pyramid on the Ohio River at the at the first annual Splashtacular.

WHEELING — The Friendly City became “Splash City” on Sunday, as the “Ohio River Splashtacular: Making Waves For Easterseals” dazzled spectators at Wheeling’s Heritage Port.

The Chippewa Lake Water Ski Show Team performed two shows and other activities were available Sunday afternoon in between raindrops, with Easterseals Rehabilitation Center the beneficiary.

Easterseals Marketing Director Betsy Bethel-McFarland said that, when starting to organize the event, she wanted to keep it free of charge for attendees but still generate money for Easterseals.

“I wanted to do this ski show, but I’m not charging people to come in so it became how do we make money for Easterseals?” Bethel-McFarland said. “So we got a Yamaha Jet Blaster personal watercraft that we’re raffling off. We also have a huge basket raffle with a bunch of different baskets that are being raffled off and a 50/50. Every dollar that’s raised on the raffles comes to Easterseals for our programming.”

Bethel-McFarland added that Easterseals helps children on the entire spectrum of disabilities and never turns any child away regardless of the family’s ability to pay.

“We help over 2,000 children a year in the Ohio Valley with pediatric rehabilitation therapies,” she said.

The presenting sponsor of the Splashtacular is Panhandle Cleaning and Restoration, and the City of Wheeling, WesBanco, River Heritage Foundation, Console Innovations, and the Wheeling Convention and Visitors Bureau also provided sponsorship for the event.

Bethel-McFarland said that although this was the first year for the Splashtacular, the organization plans on making it an annual event. She feels the event will fill the void left after the Wheeling Vintage Raceboat Regatta merged with the New Martinsville Vintage Raceboat Regatta and will move down there.”

“We wanted to continue to do something that benefited Easterseals and used the river as a stage,” she said. “Heritage Port is such a beautiful venue, but often people just come to the port and there’s nothing really happening on the river, so this actually uses the river as a stage. “We’re really excited to have the community come down and experience a water ski show probably for the first time, for a lot of people.”

The event also had various children’s activities by the splash pad in front of WesBanco Arena that were focused on water conservation and the ecosystem which were provided by SMART Centre Market, Oglebay Zoo, the West Virginia Rivers Coalition and WVU Ohio County Extension Services.

Chippewa Lake Water Ski Show Team Coordinator Doug Ribley said that the team was excited for its first time in Wheeling.

“We were supposed to be here last year, and it didn’t work out for a number of reasons, but we’re here this year,” Ribley said. “We’re really happy to be here, it’s been a little bit of a challenge with the weather, but we’re still going to put some really exciting acts out there. These are some of the best water skiers in the world that are here today.”