Thousands rock out & raft the French Broad River at Rockin' RiverFest!
This festival would not have been possible without the support of our generous sponsors; Asheville Radio Group, Prestige Subaru, Yuengling, Wild Wing Cafe, Musician's Workshop, Cheerwine, Diamond Brand, CarePartners, Liberty Bicycles, Asheville Veterinary, Sundance Power Systems, Spirtex, Colbond, Charlotte Street Computers, EcoTrips, Buncombe County Recreation & Parks Dept, GDS, Pepsi and Asheville City Parks, Recreation & Cultural Arts. Thank you for supporting RiverLink!
Great music, tasty treats, talented performances from belly dancers and Asheville Aerial Arts, beautiful weather and of course fun, fantastic rafts made for a great day at the annual Rockin' RiverFest at French Broad River Park this past Saturday. This FREE fun filled festival, organized by RiverLink and Asheville Radio Group, celebrates the French Broad River and supports RiverLink's efforts to cleanup and protect it as a place to live, work and play!
Nate Breeding and Rob Steingress of GQC raft team, as pictured below, won grand prize.
 Pirates, vikings, super heroes and rock stars were lined up at Hominy Creek Park beginning at 9am eagerly waiting to launch their rafts for the annual raft competition. With fantastic prizes generously donated by Diamond Brand including a brand new kayak and gift certificates, rafters had to work hard to impress our celebrity judges Diamond Brand Community Outreach Director Gary Eblen, Laurel of Asheville Community Editor Tina Wolfe and Mountain Xpress Director of Advertising James Fisher. After much deliberation, judges awarded GQC team grand prize for their creative use of a rocket for their raft. Second prize went to the Odyssey Community School for their dragon raft and third prize went to the candy-laden Good Ship Lollipop team.
 The kids' parade opened the festival at French Broad River Park.
Participants biked, skateboarded, rollerbladed, ran and skipped to the ukelele tunes generously provided by Matt of Musician's Workshop. Judges had a difficult time selecting winners for the most creative, best interpretation of the river and funniest categories with kids decked out in streamers, mermaid and princess costumes and painted faces.
BrushFire Stankgrass bring down the house.  The Secret B-Sides kicked off the Music Competition at noon with the music stage rocking out the entire day with performances by Jason Ross Martin, Blackjack, Hollowpoint and Brushfire Stankgrass. DJ's Bad Ash, Tommy Calloway and Aaron LaFalce representing Asheville Radio Group stations 98.1 the River, 96.5 WOXL and 105.9 the Mountain, selected the following winners; the Secret B-Sides won a $500 gift certificate to Musician's Workshop, Blackjack won the 2 hour recording slot at Whitewater Recording Studio and Brushfire Stankgrass played at the Wild Wing After Party and won $250 in Wild Wing Gift Certificates.
Baraka Mundi belly dancers Sparrow and Sarah perform.
 In between cheering on the rafts and bands, the public enjoyed fantastic performances by Baraka Mundi belly dancers, Asheville Aerial Arts and Tae Kwon Do demonstrations while munching on tasty treats from Luella's BBQ, Blue Daisy Cafe, Rolling Stone Pizza, Ultimate Ice Cream and Anna's Sweets and sipping on cold Yuengling Beer, water generously donated by Pepsi and Cheerwine drinks.
 A big thank you to our fantastic volunteers who helped make this a fun and successful event.
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 RiverLink receives Pigeon River Fund Grant to Create Paddle Trail
RiverLink's vision is make it possible for people to launch a boat into the French Broad River and have the option of spending a day to more than a week paddling the river and camping along the way. RiverLink recently received a grant from Pigeon River Fund of the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina to help make this happen.  Interest in a French Broad River Blueway trail has been slowly graining momentum throughout western NC. As pictured right, Hartwell Carson, the French Broad RiverKeeper, embarked on RiverLink's first "Tour de French Broad" in 2006, paddling the 219 miles from Rosman, NC to Knoxville, TN in 16 days. Since then, RiverLink has been receiving calls from people wanting more information on how to spend a few nights paddling the river. Carson explains that the primary issue is that "it is currently very difficult to find regular camping and access points along the river banks. Most of the land is private and inaccessible for public camping." RiverLink hopes to change the challenge of camping access by working with private and public landowners to establish a series of campsite and improved access points that would make up the French Broad River Paddle Trail. This trail would establish campsites every 8-10 miles to allow interested boaters to spend a night or two on the river. Campsites will be primitive camping with access only by the river. Maintenance of the sites will provided by a group of adopt a campsite volunteers, but there will be a heavy emphasis on leave no trace camping. RiverLink's Executive Director, Karen Cragnolin explains, "There is a tremendous opportunity to really bolster the tourism economy by tempting visitors to spend an extra couple days in this region, and by enticing visitors who have never visited this area to explore the beauty of the French Broad River." |
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Winner of the August Save the French Broad River Raffle Announced!
 RiverLink and Asheville Adventure Guide are pleased to announce the winner of the August prize package for the Save the French Broad River Raffle is Wesley Smith of Church Hill, TN, as pictured right with his daughter Eliza on top of Mt. Rogers. Wesley bought his winning ticket at Rockin' RiverFest this past Saturday while Eliza was getting her face painted.
"I have always enjoyed being outside whether I was camping, hiking, boating, biking, or just sitting around a fire with friends and family. I constantly try to instill in Eliza that our right to enjoy the great outdoors comes with the responsibility to maintain it. We always try to leave a campsite cleaner than when we got there, we "take only pictures and leave only footprints", and try to never take the beautiful things God has given us to enjoy for granted. I appreciate all that RiverLink is doing to clean up and maintain the French Broad River basin," says Wesley.
There are 6 more chances to win great outdoor gear with monthly drawings continuing from September through December 2009. Buying just one $10 raffle ticket in the Save the French Broad River Raffle enters you in all 6 drawings while supporting RiverLink to clean up the French Broad River!
Sponsored by Asheville Adventure Guide, raffle prize packages are valued at over $4000 and include more great gear such as MSR Elbow Room 2 Tent, Osprey Kestrel 48 Technical Backpack and La Sportiva Mtn Running Shoes. Prize packages also include gift certificates, tickets, lodging and services from local Asheville businesses including Asheville Outdoor Center river trip for two, Graystone Cabin two night stay and Climbmax bouldering packages.
 Next drawing is September 1st - be sure to buy your tickets online or at our office before Sept. 1st. Good luck! |
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RiverLink Volunteer River Cleanups
CYMCA summer campers hard at work during cleanup of Nasty Branch. As one camper said, "We changed it to Clean Branch!"
July River Cleanup Tally
118 Volunteers
200 volunteer hours
52 Bags of Trash
40 tires
A big thank you to the following Adopt-a-Stream teams and volunteers for their time and efforts during July river cleanups!
St. Paul's Church Youth Group River Cleanup
Swannanoa River
North Carolina Outward Bound School
Adopt-a-Stream Team
Swannanoa River
YMCA Elementary School Summer Camp River Cleanup Nasty Branch & State Stream
YMCA Middle School Summer Camp River Cleanup
Glenn Creek
JCC Middle School Summer Camp River Cleanup
Nasty Branch
JCC Elementary School Summer Camp River Cleanup
Glenn Creek
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Volunteer Spotlight shines on our summer interns Anna Levi and Mary Pat Riddle!
RiverLink has been very lucky to have Volunteer Outreach Interns, Anna Levi and Mary Pat Riddle, with us this summer who have been busy leading river cleanups, preparing for Rockin' RiverFest, reorganizing our databases and hauling rafts out of the river during the Rockin' RiverFest raft competition!
 Anna Levi will be a senior at UNC Greensboro with a major in Environmental Studies and minors in Geology and Public Health. "I've had such a great summer here at Riverlink! I began interning here this summer with the hopes that I would be able to gain valuable work experience, meet some new and awesome people, and work towards making a real difference in this community. I can truly say that Riverlink has given me the opportunity to do all three and more," says Anna of her RiverLink experience as pictured right helping out with the Kids' Parade during Rockin' RiverFest.
 Mary Pat will also be a senior at UNC Chapel Hill majoring in Journalism/Public Relations with a minor in environmental studies. "I really wanted to be involved with RiverLink this summer because I wanted to learn how to put skills I'm learning in school to use! I love working with people and being outside, so working with RiverLink was a perfect fit! Asheville is such a special place and the river is so important that we should do all we can to help protect it! Rockin' RiverFest was especially fun because I got to see all the hard work pay off and meet so many great people who care about the river and RiverLink too," says Mary Pat as seen in above photo far right second row helping NC Outward Bound participants construct rain barrels during their community service project.
Thank you Anna and Mary Pat and best wishes in your senior years!
The next Volunteer Spotlight could be on you! To learn more about volunteering with RiverLink, please come to our Volunteer Information Sessions the 2nd Wed of each month at 10am and 5pm at our offices. Please contact Rachel Doebber, the Volunteer Outreach Coordinator, at volunteer@riverlink.org or 828-2852-8474 ext. 118 to RSVP for the information session. | |
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Quick Links
River News
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| Karen Cragnolin Park gets $300,000 for cleanup from EPA through LOS Brownfield Revolving Loan Program!
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 FREE RAFTING TRIP! Huck Finn Rafting Company is offering buy one get one free rafting trip per person for every person who purchases a RiverLink membership thru the end of rafting season. To redeem this offer, please contact Carrie Allen, RiverLink Operations Manager, at carrie@riverlink.org or 828-252-8474 ext. 115 to purchase a RiverLink membership.
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Upcoming Events
8/8/09
Volunteers needed to help staff RiverLink info booth 4-7pm email volunteer@riverlink.org if interested in volunteering.
8/12/09
8/21/09
Now thru Sept 30
Vote for RiverLink to win $10,000 to cleanup the French Broad River in New Belgium Brewery's contest. CLICK HERE and then click on vote for a cause in bottom left corner.
Sweetwater Beer fundraiser for RiverLink - stay tuned for more details!
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RiverLink selling Rain Barrels!
For only $60, you can have your own rain barrel while saving water! RiverLink's rain barrels are made from recycled 55 gallon white barrels and are the cheapest in town. To purchase your rain barrel please click here or call 828-252-8474 ext. 114 to speak with Hartwell Carson, RiverLink's French Broad Riverkeeper.
 Hartwell Carson, center, shows NC Outward Bound students how to make rain barrels.
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 Support RiverLink and enjoy your coffee all in one cup!
RiverLink's French Broad River Coffee Blend from locally based roaster, Blue Smoke Coffee, is now available at these fine establishments in the Asheville area where $1 from every bag sold goes directly to RiverLink.
- Greenlife Grocery on Merrimon Ave.
- Grove Corner Market in the Grove Arcade
- Red Bike Deli in the Grove Arcade
- New Bridge Market at 1311 Tunnel Rd in East Asheville area
- Laurey's Gourmet on Biltmore Ave near the Orange Peel
- Sunshine Pharmacy in Black Mountain
You can also purchase the coffee blend online from Blue Smoke Coffee.
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We want your input for the new Karen Cragnolin Park!
If you have some ideas about this "missing link" in the Wilma Dykeman, click here to take the survey and give us your suggestions too!
Click here to purchase a Deed of Support to help us continue to make the Wilma Dykeman RiverWay Plan a reality!
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River Fact
West of Asheville, paddlers are treated to a totally different French Broad River experience. Intense whitewater excitement replaces the relaxed drifting and nature study possible below the city. For whitewater enthusiasts, numerous parks (both city and county) provide access points from Asheville to Hot Springs. There are also a number of whitewater river outfitters in Western North Carolina that offer guided trips through the various stretches of rapids.
River Photo
Raft race participants paddle the rapids during the 2009 Rockin' RiverFest.
Photo by Wesley Duffee-Braun
River Poem
"The River Water"
by Itzel Garcia
True Ink School 4th grader
Honorable mention
It's cold and I'm excited.
Hearing the waves splashing
Is like hearing children playing
In the cool water.
The cold, swishing water
Is sliding away from me
Like a water snake.
Mossy colors shown
In the sparkling water
With a blue root beer soda can.
And a sock
That lies under the water.
It looks like a lonely ghost.
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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. Send an email to the moderator to join.The French Broad River watershed is currently in an Moderate Drought. For more on the drought visit www.ncdrought.org/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |
| REUSE AND RECYCLE!!! At the Blue Buildings
 Now that the weather is getting better, we hope to see more progress at the Blue Buildings demolition. This is another "Missing Link" in the Wilma Dykeman RiverWay between 12 Bones and the Smith Bridge along Riverside Drive. Many thanks to Critical Link award winners Sean Pace and Mark Guilbeau's prominent River District Artists who are leading the charge to recycle and reuse the materials from the Blue Buildings to create new and affordable artist studio space on the river. To get involved, please contact us at 828-252-8474 ext. 110
Click here to see all photos of The Blue Buildings demolition!
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