Hundreds of people will be enjoying the North Saskatchewan River across the metro Edmonton region this weekend.

The EPCOR RiverFest invites people to raft, canoe or tube down the river in three different locations over the two days.

“It is intended to bring people down to the river and see the city from a different perspective that they’d never seen before,” said Brent Collingwood, the festival’s executive director. “It’s about connecting with nature; it’s about connecting with each other and enjoying this beautiful gem that’s right in the middle of our city.”

Steve Craik with EPCOR said it is also about dispelling some myths that the river is dirty and unsafe.

“The river is a source of our drinking water, so we want people to understand the river and we want people to care about the river like we do,” Craik explained.

The event will take place in Edmonton, Fort Saskatchewan and Devon.

About 3,000 people took in the inaugural event last year.