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Thirteen kayakers maneuvered their boats side-by-side inside Mather Gorge in the Potomac River, as Kira Goo, fuchsia cape flying behind her, leaped down the line from kayak to kayak before landing with a splash back on her own river board.

"Can I do it again?" yelled Kira, 10, of Takoma Park, to her father, who nodded in his purple feather boa.

While expert kayakers upstream raced over Great Falls in less than a minute, participants of all skill levels took almost three hours to traverse the 2-mile stretch from Sandy Beach to Old Angler's Inn on Saturday as part of the Potomac Whitewater Festival's community paddle.

More than 100 people signed up for the festival, now in its 20th year. It is also an annual fundraiser for American Whitewater, a nonprofit river conservation organization, said organizer Risa Shimoda. Events besides the community paddle included wave surfing, clinics, slalom and boatercross races.

"There's a lot of subgroups in the boating community," said Scott Anderson, 28, of Vienna, Va. "There aren't many events that bring all groups together, so that's what this is for."

Chris Glazner, 31, of Falls Church, Va., who splashed into the water after a failed attempt to walk atop the kayaks, said he likes the event because he gets to meet people he might not know otherwise.

"You get lawyers, you get engineers, you get construction workers, garbage men," Glazner said. "It is this broad cut of society, but we're all friends on the river."

Participants were encouraged to dress in costumes, and Anderson awarded prizes for categories such as "best boater tan" and "least seaworthy vessel."

"It's a river tradition to go on river trips and have a dress-up night," said Robert Goo, 53, of Takoma Park, who was wearing a purple dress stuffed with balloons.

The calm, low water provided an outlet for tomfoolery for the 15 participants, as Anderson orchestrated several competitions throughout the journey.

"I do it every year. It's fun to get out, horse around, be a little more playful then you would be in a normal day on the river," said Vicki Capone, 39, of Poolesville.

While the costumed flotilla intentionally flooded their kayaks and became foundered though a small rapid for the sunken boat competition, kayakers participating in the upstream attainment race zipped past.

The award for best use of duct tape went to April Schrock, 34, for her repair of a busted paddle. An injured Army reservist of Silver Spring, she became involved in kayaking through Team River Runner, a nonprofit group that helps wounded military personnel at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

"I love it. It gives me an outlet that otherwise I wouldn't have," Schrock said. She decided to participate in the community paddle after 10 weeks of kayaking experience.

For beginners like Marcus Sisk, the community race provided more than just experience on the water, it was a valuable way to meet people.

"I end up paddling a lot, and then I end up hiking a lot," said Sisk, 31, of Harpers Ferry, W. Va. "You meet these people and possibly get a ride back, which is awesome."