Home is where the heart is, so the often-stated phrase goes.

For Kankakee – and more importantly the Kankakee River – home is also where the American Power Boat Association National Championship races will be held through at least the 2029 Labor Day weekend.

At this week’s Kankakee City Council meeting, lawmakers unanimously approved the resolution, which authorized the city to enter into the four-year contract with the APBA Outboard Performance Craft National Championship races for 2026 through 2029.

Earlier this year, the city and the APBA announced plans to extend the agreement.

After the council meeting, Kankakee Mayor Chris Curtis said he hopes the Kankakee River Valley Regatta contract is just the first of future contracts to keep the races on the waters of the Kankakee River.

Kankakee was honored earlier this year by the ABPA for the 2025 Race Site of the Year.

The race course boundaries are basically from the waters at the Kankakee Country Club and traveling west to the area near the Frank Lloyd Wright property, which is near the Kankakee River dam.

The five-page agreement outlined the responsibilities of the APBA and the city.

Kankakee pays $80,000 each year to the APBA for the event. The fee covers costs for race officials, sanctions, prize money, and administrative services.

The city, almost exclusively through Mayor Chris Curtis, raises the necessary money to cover this cost as well as other expenses.

“I hope the races goes on for another 25 years after that,” Curtis said after the meeting regarding the new agreement.

Kankakee had been at least a 30-year host of the regatta powerboat races, but following the 2013 competition, the agreement was not renewed.

Curtis made regaining the regatta a chief target when he became mayor in 2021, and in 2024 – following an 11-year absence – the event returned to Kankakee.

The races are held Saturday and Sunday of Labor Day weekend. Monday is saved as an emergency date if weather conditions do not allow for Sunday racing.

Angelina Gear, executive director of Visit Kankakee County, which is Kankakee County’s tourism-focused organization, termed securing the event as a “huge win” for the region.

“It gives us the opportunity to build on the momentum we’ve created over the last two years and continue growing an event that showcases our community to visitors from across the region and beyond,” she said.

Gear, who is also a Kankakee Valley Park District commissioner, said securing national events such as this “don’t happen by accident,” but rather because organizations, volunteers, businesses, and local governments work together toward a shared vision.

The Kankakee River, she said, has a rich racing history, and seeing the community reclaim its place on the national stage while generating economic activity and creating an event in which residents can take pride in annually is exciting.