So book Saturday, October 29 into your diaries.

And although this year's event will only be a single day, chairman David Fleeting says there will be 10 hours of spectacular action, all focussed on one of the Shoalhaven's greatest assets - the Shoalhaven River.

The 2022 event was launched with a community information session at the Nowra Golf Club on Wednesday evening, where Mr Fleeting and the organising committee outlined plans for the event.

The strong emphasis was on the need for the community to "get involved", be it with ideas for the festival, by volunteering, the involvement of community groups or local businesses backing the event through sponsorship.

"We are really excited to be back staging the event and want to bring the community with us and to prove the value of the festival to the community," Mr Fleeting said.

"We haven't had a festival in the past couple of years due to COVID, so we want to rebuild that excitement and have people come on October 29 to enjoy it."

He said Wednesday night's event was also a way for the committee to gain ideas, help and assistance in bringing those ideas together.

"It's all about engaging with the community and celebrating our beautiful river," he said.

"I love seeing the activity on the river but it surprises me there is not much more.

"I often describe it like the Hawkesbury condensed with only the best bits - it is a beautiful river and we need to celebrate that and bring the heritage and potential of the river to the forefront."

It costs more than $100,000 to stage each festival, and while Shoalhaven City Council is already a major backer of the event, along with support from Shoalhaven Tourism, Shoalhaven Water and Bomaderry Bowling Club, more local support in the way of sponsorship will also be sought in the coming weeks and months.

Council funding that wasn't used over the past two years, after the event was cancelled, has also been brought forward to relaunch this year's event.

There will be one major change in 2022, with the festival relocating to the eastern side of the bridges, adjacent to Riverview Road.

Works on the new $342 million Nowra bridge project has affected access on the festival's usual location on the western side of the bridges.

"It's a change and presents some new challenges," Mr Fleeting said.

"But we would have been on this side of the bridges in 2020 and 2021 if we had held festivals anyway."

He said there will be a change of emphasis this year, with the event running further into the evening

"We aim to start at midday and continue through until 10pm - and we want things like our markets to continue into the night, just as our entertainment will," he said.

"The river is so spectacular during the day but even more so in the transition from day to night.

"We also want to feature the old Nowra steel bridge, which as many would know is going to turn into something quite different once the new bridge is opened."

Two popular events missing from this year will be the street parade through the Nowra CBD and the highly popular fireworks display, which usually rounds out proceedings.

"There won't be a street parade but there will be a river parade," he said

"We want to get as much activity as possible onto the river.

"We won't be staging fireworks and that is an environmental statement.

"But what we will be doing is creating a light, water and sound event which we think will surprise people.

"That's a challenge...fireworks are a terrific attraction but we think we have something that will challenge the excitement of fireworks and create something quite different and something we can progress from year to year.

"Our goal is to again build momentum in the festival and make the Shoalhaven River Festival even bigger and better."

Committee members outlined some of the program, which includes a number of water activities featuring Ride Australia Wakeboards, Marine Rescue, Nowra Waterdragons dragonboat racing, NSW Power Water Jetskiers, Shoalhaven Water Ski Club, Shoalhaven Heads Surf Life Saving Club, Hansa Sailing For Disabilities, the Tiny Float Parade, which includes artwork, and the Royal Australian Navy helicopter mock rescue demonstration by HMAS Albatross. It is also hoped to also get HMAS Creswell personnel involved.

Land based activities include various performances, mainly focussing on showcasing local talent, with three stage areas for performances.

Some spectacular bands are being organised, including one that is currently touring overseas.

There will be art and exhibition precincts, a diverse range of food stalls, and, of course, a number of market stalls primarily focusing on locally produced goods and crafts.

The Jervis Bay Maritime Museum will be staging a special stall, as will Fleet Air Arm Museum, Fishcare, Shoalhaven Riverwatch and Landcare to name just a few.

There is also the opportunity for various local organisations to stage stalls and share information on what they do.

An exciting new venture this year, which looks like being aimed at local schools, is a raft building competition.

"We have a good program planned but we still have slots available - so I suppose what I'm saying to the community is if you have an idea get in touch with us or let us know what you would like to see at the festival," Mr Fleeting said.

The Shoalhaven River Festival can be contacted via email at shoalhavenriverfestival1@gmail.com, or contact community liaison officer Kim Willett on 0422 970570.