This weekend is shaping up to be a busy one in Soldotna, beginning this evening when the three-day Kenai River Festival kicks off at Soldotna Creek Park. Festival organizers estimated some 10,000 people visited the event last year. Other events over the weekend include the Run for the River, a road race associated with the festival, and the Tri-The-Kenai Triathlon, which includes a bicycle road course starting and ending at Skyview High School and traversing parts of the Sterling Highway, and Echo Lake, Gaswell and Kalifornsky Beach roads. What all that means is this: there will be plenty of opportunity for us to get out and enjoy ourselves this weekend -- but we'll be joining many other people with the same idea, so it's going to be crowded. Enjoy the festivities, and if you're passing through Soldotna, patience and caution will be the rules this weekend.