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Paddle Festival
to Benefit the Obed W&S River
For Immediate Release
March 30, 2000
Tennessee Paddle Festival to Benefit the Obed River
A team made up of whitewater clubs and environmental groups have organized a fund raising Festival for the Obed Wild & Scenic River in Morgan County. The three day event is hosted by Tennessee Paddle a new non profit organization dedicated to working with others for the conservation and preservation of this area's watersheds as important natural resources and to ensure access for appropriate and environmentally sound recreational uses. Expectations are that this will be a major Festival for the Southeastern US. The Festival period is April 7-9 and it is based in Wartburg. There are lots of outdoor activities including paddling the Class II to V rivers, mountain bike rides and a beginner's clinic,
a bird watching hike, rock climbing exhibitions and a climb, hiking the Cumberland Trail and wildflower walks at Frozen Head State Park. All of these activities are free. The "Dagger Race for the Obed", an 18 mile down river team relay race, will be held on Saturday morning.
Part of the Festival will be a celebration of the Obed as a host site of the Rivers 2000 Project. At 5:30 PM on the Festival stage the Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association will accept a ceremonial paddle from Kentucky's Division of Natural Resources. The paddle will then go to North Carolina. This "pass the paddle" activity will be making its way to each state over the next seven months and will end in Washington with a presentation of the canoe paddle to President Clinton. Jack Lyle, President of the TSRA, stated "TSRA members are huge fans of the Obed and we can think of no better place in Tennessee to recognize with this part of our role with the Rivers 2000 Project".
The Festival day is Saturday April 8 from 2-9 PM in downtown Wartburg. The Festival's sponsors will be on hand as will state agencies and local and regional nonprofit groups focused on the environment. Food and entertainment will be part of the day's schedule. The entrance fee is $5. The Festival will be held rain or shine. If there is bad weather the entire Festival site will be relocated inside a new 10,000 square foot building. The recreational paddlers are hoping for more rain early in the week, as this is a rain-fed system.
"It has been exciting and rewarding to see this new American Whitewater Festival event come together" said Dale B. Robinson the Team Leader for Tennessee Paddle. "Working with three independent whitewater clubs, the National Parks Conservation Association, Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning, American Whitewater, the National Park Service, the City of Wartburg and Morgan County has been a real pleasure. We've learned a lot about each other and built some important bridges for the long term. The community has really responded by offering camping, lodging and a ton of cooperation in this first event for the area. We're all focused on the same goal, to support efforts to protect and preserve the watershed and the area around it. We're expecting paddlers and other outdoor folks who live in Knoxville, Oak Ridge, the Plateau communities as well as from other communities in Tennessee and the Southeast to come and help us with our goal".
For more information on the schedule of outdoor activities and the goals of Tennessee Paddle visit the website at: www.tennesseepaddle.com
Questions on this release can be directed to Dale Robinson at 865/909-2622 (voice mail)
Or 865/637-8193 (home).
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