WATERFEST XII May 4-5

CRBI's 12th annual paddlesports and environmental education extravaganza is set for May 4-5 at Ridge Ferry Park and the E.C.O. RIver Center. The event will feature a 13-mile canoe and kayak race on the Oostanaula River, Canoe & Kayak Tug-O-Wars in our Cedar Creek Park pool and our Environmental Fair highlighted by reptile and raptor shows, exhibits, children's activities, an Environmental Scavenger Hunt, CRBI's Environmental Quiz Bowl competition and great food. SCROLL DOWN TO WATCH VIDEO OF WATERFEST AND LEARN MORE ABOUT THE EVENT.

Start canoe-a-thon fundraising now!

WATERFEST  isn't until May 4-5, but you can get started now raising money for the Canoe-A-Thon competition. Raise more money than anyone else and win great prizes like canoes and kayaks. Create your online fundraising page NOW or download a Canoe-a-thon pledge sheet.

View Canoe Tug-O-Wars & Environmental Fair video from previous WATERFESTs below!

13-Mile Canoe & Kayak Race

The 13-mile Canoe & Kayak Race runs from the Ga. 140 Boat Ramp in Armuchee to Ridge Ferry Park in Rome. The course is a flatwater course through mostly wooded and rural farmland. The course is highlighted by a Native American Fish Dam and numerous historic U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wing dams that date back to the 1870s when the river carried steamboats and barges as far upstream as the current location of Carters Dam on the Coosawattee.

Trophies will be given in numerous competitive divisions, including divisions for para-athletes. The fastest finishers in previous years have finished the 13-mile course in less than two hours, however, many paddlers choose to kick back, relax and enjoy the day on the river.

The Race begins at 10 a.m. and ends at Ridge Ferry Park, the site of the Environmental Fair with exhibits, live animal shows and the Canoe Tug-O-Wars. The Canoe Tug-O-Wars will be held in the afternoon this year, allowing racers to compete in the tugs, if they wish.

Registration fees are $40 for solos and $50 for tandems before April 30 and $50/$60 there after. REGISTER ONLINE NOW!

Canoe & Kayak Tug-O-Wars

The most fun you'll ever have in two feet of water! The Canoe & Kayak Tug-O-Wars test the mettle of even the strongest paddlers. Some contests end quickly; others can extend for several exhausting minutes, but every match up is an uproarious good time...with many contestants capsizing for a cool swim!  All contests take place in the Johnson Outdoors portable tug-o-war pool erected at Ridge Ferry Park. 

The Kayak Tug-O-

Wars take place on Friday, May 4, from 5-8:30 p.m. Paddlers will compete in divisions for youth, adults and parent/child tandem. Winners of the double-elimination tournaments in each competitive division will receive gift certificates from Blue Sky Outfitter in Rome!

Kayak Tug-O-War entry fee is $5 per person and includes a raffle ticket to win a new kayak. Each division is a double-elimination tournament so you are guaranteed at least two tugs. REGISTER ONLINE NOW!

The Canoe Tug-O-Wars take place on Saturday, May 5, from 2-5 p.m. Four-person co-ed teams will compete for a $200 cash prize plus truly gaudy trophy hardware, gift certificates to local restaurants....and, of course, bragging rights.  1st, 2nd and 3rd place teams will be recognized.

Two canoes courtesy of Cedar Creek Park and Johnson Outdoors will be tied stern to stern. Three people from each team compete in each tug (you'll need a substitute after one or two tugs--trust us!) The first team to touch the wall of the pool wins and advances to the next level of competition. The competition is a double-elimination tournament so each team is guaranteed two at least two tugs

Canoe Tug-O-War entry fee is $80 per team prior to April 30; and $100 there after. Each contestant receives a WATERFEST T-shirt and a year's membership in CRBI. REGISTER ONLINE NOW!

Canoe-a-thon Competition

Want to take home a new canoe or kayak, take a family vacation in the North Georgia Mountains or win great outdoor clothing and gear from Patagonia?

Want to help raise money for CRBI while you win these great prizes?

If you answered yes to these questions, the Canoe-a-thon is for you...and the best part is, you don't have to lift a paddle to compete. The Canoe-a-thon is open to all CRBI supporters even if you're not competing in a WATERFEST event!

BEGIN RAISING MONEY NOW AT WWW.FIRSTGIVING.COM/COOSA 

or Download A Canoe-a-thon Solicitation Form Here

Here's how it works: You solicit donations to CRBI from friends, family and business associates. On May 5 we tally all the donations, and those individuals who raised the most money get to choose from great prizes including...

• A New Old Town Canoe valued at $700 courtesy of Johnson Outdoors
• A New Old Town Kayak valued at $500 courtesy of Cedar Creek Park
• Clothing and products from Patagonia
• A framed photograph of Georgia's rivers valued at $275 courtesy of Joe Cook
  
• And, much more (check back periodically as we add prizes to our list!) 
  

And, this year, we're making the fundraising even easier! Each time a contributor makes a donation of $5, that donor will receive a raffle ticket to win a new kayak. For every $20 in contributions made by the donor, they receive five raffle tickets to win the canoe!

You can begin raising money now by downloading our Canoe-a-thon solicitation form and/or setting up your own fundraising page at www.firstgiving.com/coosa It's simple and easy and puts hundreds of donors within your fingertips from your computer terminal.

In 2011, the top fundraiser generated more than $1500 for CRBI programs and together our participants raised more than $7000. This year, we want to raise more than $10,000 through the Canoe-a-thon!

Environmental Fair

Surrounding the Canoe & Kayak Tug-O-War pool at WATERFEST will be exhibitors, children's activities of all kinds, great food and canoe and kayak vendors. The Fair will be highlighted by reptile and raptor shows and inside Rome's E.C.O. River Center, you can view native fish in the Center's mammoth aquariums.

Additionally, children can participate in the Environmental Scavenger Hunt to earn prizes and everyone can watch to find out if they are "smarter than a fourth grader" as fourth grade students from elementary schools across Northwest Georgia and Northeast Alabama compete for a grant of up to $2500 from the Captain Planet Foundation in the Environmental Quiz Bowl tournament.

Don't miss this opportunity to learn more about our rivers and how you can work to protect them every day. It's an educational extravaganza for the whole family.

Interested in exhibiting at WATERFEST? Download a registration form and send it to Sarah Husser at shusser@coosa.org