Bruce Kemp has helped plan the Lake Arthur Regatta since it began in 1999.

He said he is certain this year's was the best ever.

The regatta, held Aug. 2 and 3, attracted a record two-day attendance of about 67,000 to Moraine State Park. It featured traditionally popular events like hot air balloons and fireworks plus new activities such as freestyle canoeing and geocaching, in which participants hunted for a treasure using hand-held global positioning systems.

Organizers said the weather conditions were perfect throughout the weekend.

"It's hard to pick out one favorite thing," park Manager Obie Derr said. "We spend a year planning for this, and it's nice to see your work come to fruition, to see all the people, all the kids, everyone having a good time."

The regatta included more than 60 scheduled events. Planning all those activities is a daunting process, Mr. Kemp said. For the past several years, the members of the regatta board, who are all volunteers, also have been in charge of fundraising for the event.

Mr. Kemp, 60, has lived in Butler County for 35 years and works as a house painter. He said the planning is exhausting but is worth the exhilaration he felt during the event.

This year, the board found 23 sponsors, mostly local businesses, to help fund the event.

"We are very, very careful about how we spend the limited money we do get," Mr. Kemp said of the organizers.

One of the main purposes of the regatta is to showcase Moraine State Park to people in the area, according to Mr. Kemp and Mr. Derr.

Mr. Kemp called the park a "diamond in the rough."

Mr. Derr said he met many people at the regatta who live in Butler County, New Castle or Youngstown but had never visited the park.

"They're just amazed; they don't know what's out here," he said. "People see what we have, how great a park it is, and it encourages them to come back."

Moraine State Park holds events every week, but the regatta is easily the biggest of the year. Despite the large crowd, Mr. Derr said the park suffered little damage and no vandalism was reported.

The Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau helps advertise the regatta. Patti Jo Lambert, a spokeswoman for the bureau, also said she was thrilled to see so many people at the regatta.

"This is one of Butler's biggest events, and what's exciting is that it is really becoming a destination event," she said. "The attendance is proof that people are really coming out."

Mr. Kemp said he expects another successful regatta next summer.

"It really is a bit easier every year because of the groundwork we have laid. I see no reason why it wouldn't be bigger and better [next year]."