Ten years after its founding, the Vallejo Waterfront Weekend resumes this weekend in what organizers hope will be a way for families to have fun while supporting the restoration of the Mira Community Cultural Center.

“Run and Row to the Rhythm of the City” is the theme of the event that has been expanded from smaller versions that originated in 2004 and took place on occasion afterward.

But this year’s waterfront festival is anything but small, said Jon Riley, who with a core group of organizers spearheaded its revival.

Among the attractions, the Whale Boat Regatta is back, featuring the Monomoy Surfboats, of U.S. Coast Guard design. The regatta starts at Vic’s Wheelhouse, and rowers will propel their boats to the Vallejo Yacht Club and back, a trip that takes about six minutes. Four to five whaleboats will compete in each race that will take place from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.

The festival also will feature the Vallejo Waterfront Paddle Race, starting at noon both days for those with canoes, kayaks, paddle boards and similar watercraft. All will leave at the same time from the waterfront between the Tap Room and Vik’s Wheelhouse; participants can bring their own craft or borrow one from organizers’ inventory.

Those who prefer their races on land can watch or participate in the 5-kilometer Walk-Run and 10-k Run Waterfront Glow Run, to help Foster Greatness, which assists Vallejo foster teens as well as Mira Community Cultural Center.

They are called “Glow Runs” because participants are issued glow sticks before the 6:48 p.m. Saturday start time. Those who haven’t registered earlier may enter the races in person and pick up their race packets the day of the race at The Hub, 350 Georgia St., from 4-6:30 p.m. Saturday.

Other events include the Vallejo Yacht Club’s Chili Cook-off and Smack Down, in which more participants are welcome to compete, Riley said. Each team pays $25 to enter, and will start their preparations at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Tastings will be from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday. Judges will base their $100 grand prize decision on taste, aroma and appearance, and the public will pick the $75 People’s Choice Award and participate in choosing the $50 Presentation Award, based on team spirit, gimmickry and overall fun.

Then there’s the Celebrity Dunk Tank, in which a number of Vallejo city officials and community leaders have volunteered to get splashed. But this dunk tank doesn’t drop a victim into a tank of water — instead, they’ll sit in the “Humiliation Machine,” based on a vintage Skeeball amusement game and built by the artists of Obtainium Works, a Mare Island studio.

Participants must roll a croquet ball up a ramp into holes to make points. Once a set number of points are made, the participant pulls a lever that dumps a 3-gallon bucket of water on the head of the volunteer “dunkee,” Riley said.

One of the weekend’s major goals is to raise money for the Mira Theater, which is becoming a community center, Riley said.

“It’s the last theater for plays,” he said. Organizers had little trouble agreeing that the theater should be the beneficiary of the waterfront festival.

Riley, a leader of the Napa-Solano Labor Council, said the Mira building needs a new roof, and he has been working through the council, local contractors and others to help the theater get the repairs it needs.

“We are partnering with business, labor and Rebuilding Together Solano County to turn this historic neighborhood landmark into the jewel that will welcome visitors entering our city,” he said.

But the event has another goal, too. Like the initial festival that made its debut in 2004, the current event comes after a divisive election, Riley said.

Not only did organizers began meeting about how to get a new roof on the theater, they also wanted a “bridge-building project” to unite their community, he said.

“The festival unites the downtown and waterfront communities, and will also celebrate the historic significance of the Mare Island Naval Shipyard,” he said.

“Things are starting to turn around in Vallejo,” Riley said. “If we work on a project with people, it opens the lines of communication. The challenge is this year is the first year, and it’s so big. Next year, things will go smoothly, and people will be lining up. We’ve done a good job laying the foundation.”

Other attractions at the weekend festival: 

• Greater Vallejo Recreation District employees will supervise youngsters in child-friendly activities in a special area of the waterfront.

• Vallejo Farmers Market will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Georgia and Marin streets, where shoppers can find fresh fruits and vegetables brought in directly from California family farms.

• A classic car exhibit along Georgia Street between Sacramento and Santa Clara streets will feature about 50 vehicles brought by the Boyz Under the Hood and Freewheelers car clubs. Many of the owners will be available to talk about the historical significance of their cars.

• Art aficionados can pick up a map at Temple Art Lofts, 707 Marin St., and stroll along what Riley called “an arts explosion” of decorated storefront windows that have become miniature galleries, with musical and theatrical performers entertaining during the viewing party, which starts at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

After the art walk, the Temple Art Lofts will have a reception fundraiser with music, food and beverages and prize drawings, that will underwrite the Vallejo Community Arts Foundation Children’s Summer Arts Camp.

• For music fans, “Song and Dances” starts at 1 p.m. at the John F. Kennedy Library, 505 Santa Clara St., and features the Vallejo-based husband-and-wife duo of pianist Karen Balabanian, former Napa Valley Symphony member and co-founder of the First Presbyterian Chamber Concerts, and cellist John Bennett, a member of both the NVSO and the Vallejo Symphony.

• Another concert starts at 8:30 p.m. Saturday at the Empress Theater, 330 Virginia St., starring the Beatles tribute band the Sun Kings, who have a repertoire of more than 150 songs from the Beatles catalogue, from the band’s early Hamburg, Germany club appearances to the police-interrupted rooftop performance featured in “Let It Be.” Admission to the concert is $22 online and $25 at the door.

• The city of Vallejo itself will be the subject of free bus tours, with buses provided by SolTrans, Riley said. The special community bus route means visitors who arrive in Vallejo by ferry can ride the shuttle to the daytime events Saturday and get a chance to see multiple sites in Vallejo, including Mare Island’s dry docks, historic buildings and museum.

The shuttle buses will have tour guides, Riley said, and will describe the landmarks visitors will see. “We’re hoping people will take advantage of it,” he said.

Those interested may visit www.vallejowaterfrontweekend.com for a list of events, site maps, tickets and sponsorships.