The RiverRocks Finale, taking place on Saturday in Coolidge Park, is a full day of family fun focused on activities and programs designed to educate future generations on the importance of an active lifestyle, preserving our environment, healthy eating and having fun outdoors. The community is invited to come to one of the best urban parks in the Southeast and enjoy the day. All activities are free with the exception of the zip line and tethered hot air balloon rides.
Coolidge Park will be jam-packed with RiverRocks activities from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. A new RiverRocks Adventure Kids program will be held with zip lines, a scavenger hunt, archery and juggling lessons. Live animals and the Aquarium’s touch tank and will be on hand as well as slack line demos and a stunt bike riding show.
Locally-sourced food will be cooked up on the grill at the BIG Picnic and a dining area has been set up for families to enjoy fresh food from local producers. RiverRocks is serving food using ingredients from the following local farms and food producers: Cloudcrest Farm, Crabtree Farms, Sequatchie Cove Farm, River Ridge Farm, Cody Farms, Niedlov’s Breadworks, Link 41 Artisan & Cured Meats, Head River Farm, Signal Mountain Farm, Alchemy Spice Company, Patterson Farms and Elm Hill.
Former Table 2 Chef Eric Taslemi and Chef Virginia Cofer will be manning the 15-foot grill and serving up hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled veggies as well as Petunia’s Silver Jalapeno Boston Butt Barbecue and Chili. A BIG Picnic plate with Barbeque, Hamburger or Hot Dog and two sides (coleslaw, potato salad, chips) is available for $8. Barbecue, Hamburger or Hot Dog with no sides will be priced at $6.
“Our RiverRocks mission is intertwined with the local food movement. We support area food producers because it is good for the local economy, supports our agricultural base and cuts down on the negative environmental impact of trucking items over large distances. And it tastes fresher,” said Michael McGauley, founder of RiverRocks. “We’ve designed a fun day for the entire community and invite everyone to come and help celebrate Chattanooga’s outdoors.”
Also scheduled that day is the groundbreaking Gig City Roots concert, supported in part by the Tennessee Arts Commission. Chattanooga’s ultra-high-speed internet capabilities will be showcased along with a stellar group of Tennessee musicians. The legendary T Bone Burnett will be playing live from the Annenburg Innovation Lab’s facility at the University of Southern California. Scheduled for 7 p.m., the concert will utilize the power and speed of "the gig" (200 times faster than the national average) to bring musicians together across vast spaces, in real time. With this powerful connection there is no latency and for the first time musicians can perform simultaneously and collaboratively despite being separated by thousands of miles.
Closing out the festival at 9:30 p.m. is a spectacular display -- Andrew Nigh’s huge wooden sculpture commissioned for the festival will be burned as a symbolic conclusion of this year’s festival.
The RiverRocks mission is to help save the abundant land and watersheds set aside through conservancies and land trusts for future generations. RiverRocks has contributed more than $70,000 to local conservation organizations in the last two years. Beneficiaries include the Tennessee River Gorge Trust, the Trust for Public Land, Lula Lake Land Trust, North Chickamauga Creek Conservancy, Cumberland Trail, Lookout Mountain Conservancy, Friends of Moccasin Bend and the Chattanooga Arboretum and Nature Center.
For a complete list of events visit RiverRocksChattanooga.com.