Paddle Georgia, a week-long canoe/kayak journey organized by Georgia River Network (GRN), begins this weekend in Suwanee. On June 21, 400 paddlers will begin a 110 mile-long journey along the Chattahoochee, following the river’s path as it courses through metro Atlanta. The 2014 edition of the event will end in Franklin seven days later. Approximately 50 paddlers will also participate in a weekend only version called Paddle Georgia Lite.
During the day, Paddle Georgia participants will explore the region by paddleboat, traversing from Atlanta’s northern suburbs in Gwinnett, Forsyth, Cobb and Fulton counties to the river’s rural haunts in south Fulton, Douglas, Coweta, Carroll and Heard counties. At night, the travellers will camp at nearby facilities such as local high schools. Paddlers will enjoy a rest stop at Lambert High School on June 20-22, Riverview Landing on June 23-24, Newnan High School on June 25-26 and Heard County’s Riverside Park on June 27. For additional fees, hot breakfasts, sack lunches and dinners will be provided.
Physical activities are not the only activities paddlers will be engaging in. The event also includes educational programs on the river’s cultural and natural history, tours of facilities and historic sites located along the river, nightly games and entertainment and even a research program in which participants will help collect chemical and biological data with the Georgia Adopt-A-Stream program in an effort to evaluate the river’s current health.
Community members are also welcomed to the following events, which will occur at different stopping points along the paddlers' path:
Monday, June 23, at 7:45 p.m., River Landing in Smyrna: Clarke Otten, a historian and Civil War expert, will present a program on “The Atlanta Campaign and the Chattahoochee: Soldiers battle one another and nature in one of the Civil War's epic struggles.”
Tuesday, June 24 at 7 p.m., River Landing in Smyrna: The Georgia Water Coalition will commend Georgia legislators who champion clean water. Tom Baxter, a noted columnist and political correspondent, will also speak on “The Politics of Water: Epic Battles and Endeavors to Protect Georgia’s Water.”
Wednesday, June 25 from 4:30-9:30 p.m., the Historic Coweta County Courthouse Square: Friends of Chattahoochee Bend State Park, in partnership with MainStreet Newnan, will be hosting a downtown Street Party and Festival at the historic Coweta County Courthouse Square. The festival will feature canoe and kayak demo rides and canoe tug-o-wars in a massive portable pool; a Paddling Film Festival at the Newnan Carnegie Library; and a D.J., music and dancing. Paddle Georgia participants will also be dining out at local restaurants for their evening meal.
Besides the fish fry, all Paddle Georgia community events are free, open to the public and held outdoors. Attendees are encouraged to bring their lawn chairs. For more details, visit http://www.garivers.org/paddle_georgia/index.html.
This year marks the ten-year anniversary for Paddle Georgia. So far, GRN has introduced more than 2,800 paddlers to more than 900 miles of water trails and raised more than $200,000 for river protection. Paddle Georgia participants range in age from four to 84 and hail from across the country and the world.
This year, a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, a non-profit organization whose mission is to protect the Chattahoochee from its headwaters in the North Georgia mountains to the Florida state line.
Information for the media, including a daily itinerary, directions to campsites, launch sites and take-out sites can be found on the Paddle Georgia website: http://www.garivers.org/paddle_georgia/mediainfo2014.htm.