Missouri River flooding causes cancellation of second day of Riverfest in St. Charles

ST. CHARLES, Mo. (First Alert 4) — Vendors worked late into the night Thursday to pack up and move out of Frontier Park in St. Charles to avoid rising floodwaters from the Missouri River.

Jose Kimbrow is a vendor who said he served a lot of tacos and street corn Thursday and was looking forward to a second day of brisk business.

“It’s obviously unfortunate, but that’s the nature of the job,” he said.

The Missouri River is in flood from the rains and is expected to rise high enough to flood parts of the park Friday, so event organizers announced Thursday night that all Friday festivities would be canceled, including the fireworks display.

Beth Norviel is a spokeswoman for the city of St. Charles.

“We just have to be very careful about keeping everyone safe and making smart decisions,” she said.

The July 4th festival on the banks of the St. Charles River always draws large crowds.

“We’ve been to this festival a few times before and it’s always great fun. The kids love it. So I’m sure a lot of people are disappointed,” said parent Nick Morgan.

The National Weather Service predicted the Missouri River would crest early this afternoon. By then, floodwaters were covering areas where vendors had set up shop Thursday.