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Rockin'
Riverfest
 French Broad River Park was rockin'
and rollin' with over 4,000 people in attendance at the RiverLink and
WOXL's sponsored Rockin' RiverFest on Saturday August 2nd.
Featuring the ever popular Raft Race, Kids Parade, Animal Compassion
Network's Pet Parade & dog showcase and Musician's Workshop's Music
Showcase & Competition, the festival had something for everyone to
enjoy.
 Kids Parade
Asheville's own hula hoop performer MelMacPink and fun music group
The Pond Bros. helped kick off the festival at 11am by leading the
Kids' Parade - a procession of young Ashevilleans biking, rollerblading,
running, walking and skipping in costume and painted faces to celebrate
the French Broad River. Finishing up in the Kids' Area, families
continued the fun with petting animals at the WNC Nature Center
Petting Zoo and then transforming into lions, tigers and bears, oh my
with Asheville Face Painting and Funtastic Faces all while
hula hooping with MelMacPink.
Pet Parade
 Everyone knows dogs are Asheville's
best friend which was quite evident during the Pet Parade.
Celebrity Judges Susan Rhinehart, Robin Cape and Julie Wunder
awarded prizes for the smallest, largest and cutest dog - the last prize
being very competitive of course!
Photo Courtesy of Judy Francis
 Raft Race
What do Pirates, Sirens, Sailors and Hula Dancers all have in
common? A joy for floatin' down the French Broad River during the
Rockin' RiverFest Raft Race! Starting at 10am, over 40 rafts
competed in the Raft Race where teams including Ship Happens,
Interrupted Development, Bottoms Up, The Siren's Odyssey and Screamin'
Otters went head to head. Determining winners for each of the
eight categories was a tough job for our Raft Race Judging Team - NC
State House Representative Susan Fisher and her husband, Laurel of
Asheville Editor Tina Wolf and Mountain Express Advertising Director
James Fisher. They were so impressed with the creativity of the
raft teams that they created several new categories including Most
Dedicated and Best in Show. Winners are listed below.
 Music Showcase
The Music Showcase & Competition rocked on from noon to 5pm with Silvergun
Superman, By Morning, Oddstar, Hollowpoint and Jazz the Ripper
competing for People' Choice and Wild Wings' Choice. Jazz the
Ripper walked off the stage with their heads held high as they learned
they won not only the People's Choice Award where they received a $500
gift certificate from Musician's Workshop and 2 hours in a recording
studio but were also chosen by Wild Wings to perform later that Saturday
night. Congratulations Jazz the Ripper!
 In between musical acts, festival
goers were amazed by the graceful and athletically talented members of Asheville
Aerial Arts, a group of professionally trained aerial artists, as
they spun, danced, and glided through the air.  Claire of belly dancing group, Baraka
Mundi, had the audience entranced as she balanced a sword on her head
while performing intricate moves to the live music provided by
Liam. Laugh Your Asheville Off Comedians had people in
stiches with their spoofs on famous musicians. Photo
courtesy of Mollie Petersen
Photo courtesy of Mollie Peterson
 To make sure they had enough energy
for kayaking with Diamond Brand and frisbee golf, cornhole, bocce ball,
volleyball and badminton games, participants filled up on tasty treats
from Blue Daisy Cafe, Satay-A-Go-Go and Wild Wings while quenching
their thirst
with Cheerwine, Pepsi and Yuengling beverages.
 Rockin' RiverFest was a great with
fun had by all that would not have been possible without all our
fantastic volunteers who did everything from putting in and taking out
rafts to serving drinks, picking up trash and recycling, directing
traffic, coordinating parking, registering kids and pets for the parades,
ensuring rafters were safe on the river and capturing all these special
moments on film. Thank you for all your hard work, time and
energy!
We need to send a big thank you to Buncombe County Department of
Recreation & Parks for transporting rafts, driving parking
shuttles and helping to organize for this big day. Thank you to Asheville
City Recreation & Parks Department, Eco Trips for their generous
time and work in providing parking shuttles and Pepsi for donating
beverages. Rockin' RiverFest would not have happened without our
generous sponsors; Wild Wings, Miller and Pets Supply Plus - thank
you!
And of course a big thank you to Asheville and everyone who attended for
supporting our mission to revitalize the French Broad River watershed as
a place to LIVE, WORK & PLAY! See you on the river!
Rockin' RiverFest photos
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Raft
Race Winners
Our Celebrity Judges NC State House Representative Susan
Fisher and her husband, Laurel of Asheville Editor Tina Wolf and Mountain
Express Advertising Director James Fisher had a very difficult task
in selecting winners for each of the following categories from the 40
plus very creative and dedicated raft teams. Congratulations to our
winners and a big thank you to everyone who participated. We look
forward to seeing you in the Rockin' RiverFest Raft Race in 2009!
Fastest: Odyssey Community School
Runner Up: Appalachian Realty Associates
Most Creative: Propain
Runner Up: River Slaves
That Floats?: Hannah Flannagin's
Runner Up: Image 420
Green Machine Award: Interrupted Development
Runner Up: Green Building Council
Ugliest: Bottoms Up
Runner Up: Snapple Swamp Rat
Best Theme: Siren's Odyssey
Runner Up: Mills River Yacht Club
Funniest: Bed Knobs & Broomsticks
Runner Up: Ship Happens
Biggest: Valhalla Express
Runner Up: River Scum
Most Dedicated: Brazell/Richmond
Rafters
Best in Show: The Vikings
People's Choice: The Vikings
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Muddy Water Watch
Training on Sept. 9th
 Do you want to help prevent the
number one polluter in the French Broad River? Volunteer to be trained as
a RiverLink Muddy Water Watcher! Muddy Water Watch is a
statewide training program to reduce muddy runoff from construction sites
by providing training workshops and materials to help volunteers
understand erosion control, and how they can monitor and reduce polluted
runoff. This is the second regional training, and there are now over 35
Muddy Water Watch volunteers out in our watershed making a huge
difference towards reducing the amount of sediment in our streams.
Trainings start September 9th, so send an email to Riverkeeper@riverlink.org
to sign up or for more information.
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Watershed Education
Training
Aug. 20th
It's time to go back to school, and that means it's time to schedule a
visit from RiverLink's Watershed Education program! If you are a teacher
or parent who would like to invite RiverLink to your school or youth
group, please contact us at education@riverlink.org or 252-8474 x.111.
Click here to view programs- all
FREE!
VOLUNTEER TRAINING August 20th 9:30am-12pm
Do you have education and/or environmental experience? If so we can use
your help educating the children of the French Broad River watershed!
Join us for a volunteer training Wednesday, August 20. Email education@riverlink.org
for details and to sign up.
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Help give us clues for the RiverWay's missing link!
Transforming a junkyard into a greenway is our goal.
Come to Amboy Road at Karen Cragnolin Park (that is between Carrier Park
and French Road River Park) on Sunday August 24 from 3 to 5 pm to
walk the old junkyard, take a survey and meet with members of the French
Broad River Garden Club and Foundation (FBRGCF) and RiverLink staff to
share ideas about how this newest link in the Wilma Dykeman RiverWay
should be developed.
The FBRGCF will be working with RiverLink to raise funds from the
National Council of Garden Clubs to develop a master plan that will link
the two existing parks with a greenway, respect the eventual Brownfield
agreement and provide public amenities we call can enjoy. Lemonade
and cookies will be provided!
The concrete is gone - all 100,000 tons of it, a blue heron has taken up
residence and we need your input on this exciting new link in the Wilma
Dykeman RiverWay. For directions call 828-252-8474, ext 115 or
visit our web at www.riverlink.org
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French
Broad River Camps
The inaugural summer of RiverLink's French Broad River Camps were a great
success! Forty campers learned, played, and volunteered for the river.
Activities included canoeing, river cleanups, watershed education,
camping, whitewater rafting, and much more!
Click here to view photos of River
Camps
Thanks to everyone who helped our campers have a great time
on the river, and see you next year!
Thanks to our generous sponsor!
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River News
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Save
the French Broad!
As far back as the Cherokee Indians, the French Broad
Watershed has attracted people with its stunning natural beauty and clean
water. For the first time in over three decades, the river is declining
and threatened as never before.
Because of this critical moment in the history of the French
Broad River, RiverLink and Sweetwater Beer are working to Save the
French Broad.
For the month of August numerous participating restaurants,
bars, and retail stores are partnering with RiverLink and Sweetwater
Brewery to help raise money to further RiverLink's mission, to make the
French Broad River a place to live work and play. Each business is
selling paper fish with the slogan "I gave my liver to save the
river," and t-shirts with the businesses logo on the front and
the "Save the French Broad" logo on the back.
Pick up a fish or shirt at one of these participating businesses:
RiverLink, Eblen Short Stop (8 locations), Mellow Mushroom,
Wildwings, Rocket Club, Square Root, Scully's, Hannah Flannagins,
Westville Pub, Lobster Trap, Bier Garden, Tourist Stadium, Orange Peel,
Vaso de Vino Wine Market, Greenlife, and Biltmore Farms.
And don't miss special events during the month of August. August
16th The Rocket Club is holding a benefit concert featuring several local
bands.
Stay tuned for more details on a Greenlife beer sampling and
information about the campaign, a benefit concert at the Orange Peel, and
fish for sale at the Tourists Stadium.
www.savethefrenchbroad.com
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RiverLink
Magazine
Check out the latest issue of
RiverLink's magazine insert in Citizen Times!
Paper copies available at RiverLink's
offices and throughout the watershed at restaurants, coffee shops, and
bookstores.
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RiverLink
Volunteer River Cleanups
July River Cleanup
Tally
129
Volunteers
187
volunteer hours
10 Bags
62 tires
A big thank you to all our awesome river cleanup volunteers!
YWCA
Spirit Camp
Swannanoa River in Asheville
Recreation Park
YMCA Summer Camps
Glenn Creek in Weaver Park
CAYLA Summer Camp
Swannanoa River in Azalea Park
Boy Scout Troop # 53
French Broad River from Southern Waterways to Jean Webb Park
YMCA Summer Camp
Swannanoa River in Asheville Recreation Park
YWCA Future Vision Summer Camp
Hominy Creek in Hominy Creek Park
JCC
Glenn Creek in Fran's Field
French
Broad River Camps
Reed Creek
Glenn Creek
Moore Branch
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Upcoming River
Cleanups
We're
taking a break in August to avoid the heat, poison ivy, and snakes- oh
my! We will resume river cleanups in September, so check back next month!
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River
Fact
The French Broad River was originally named for being one of two broad
rivers in western North Carolina. The one which flowed into French
colonial territory was named the French Broad, and the other which stayed
in English territory (the American colonies) was named the English Broad,
now just the Broad River.
River Photo
Rockin' Riverfest Raft Race
River
Quote
I
have never seen a river that I could not love. Moving water...has a
fascinating vitality. It has power and grace and associations. It has a
thousand colors and a thousand shapes, yet it follows laws so definite
that the tiniest streamlet is an exact replica of a great river.
- Roderick HaigBrown
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Drought Update
Does the current drought have you wanting to conserve more water? If you
have questions or want to discuss how to build a rain barrel or install a
cistern, log on to the community
water harvesting and. Send an email to the
moderator to join.
The French Broad River watershed is currently in an
Exceptional Drought, the most severe level.
For more on the drought visit www.ncdrought.org/
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