Celebrate what makes Chattanooga such a great outdoor city during the RiverRocks Festival, from Oct. 6-21. There will be over 30 different events including adventure sport competitions, bluegrass music, hot air balloons and family entertainment, all listed on riverrockschattanoooga.com. Beginning this weekend with the 3 Sisters Festival, and concluding with the Best Town (For)Ever street party on Oct. 20, there is a full range of events, competitions and activities for everyone from the serious athlete to kids and families to enjoy, said officials.
Get out, Have Fun and Get Active is the mantra for RiverRocks 2017, sponsored by Subaru, First Volunteer Bank, and Unum. According to Carla Pritchard, owner of Chattanooga Presents, who produces RiverRocks, “Ultimately, RiverRocks seeks to highlight Chattanooga's outdoor opportunities and to inspire Chattanoogans to enjoy them as an integral part of their daily lives.”
RiverRocks 2017 will continue to include a broad schedule of premier adventure sports competitions, such as Swim the Suck, the Chattanooga Head Race, the StumpJump 50k Trail Race and the Triple Crown of Bouldering. A few new events that everyone can enjoy this year this year will be Sculpture in the Sky, a free event held at the Sculpture Fields on Saturday, where spectators can enjoy high-flying family fun and see colossal and colorful kites, stunt kites and Rokaku battle kites, as well as parachute kite races throughout the afternoon.
Also, the new Chattanooga Celebration & Ciclovia will be held on Sunday, a six-mile bike ride through downtown and east Chattanooga neighborhoods, each featuring free block parties along the route with live music, food and beverage and a wide variety of entertainment.
Another new family-friendly event is the Wild & Scenic Film Festival, held at Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center on Saturday, Oct. 14. Enjoy a rotating schedule of short nature-related and outdoor films throughout the day and evening, combined with local music, remote control sail boating, guided hikes, a canoe trip, food and beverage tethered hot air balloon rides and more.
A free finale street party called Best Town (For)Ever will take place on Friday, Oct. 20, in the 700 block of Cherry Street. A main stage with local and regional music, overhead slacklining, a climbing wall, hot air balloon rides, a geodome, an expo of outdoor organizations, and local food and brews will all be part of the fun.
Overall, RiverRocks will create opportunities and incentives to revel without a pause in the great outdoors between Oct. 6-21. Visit www.riverrockschattanooga.com to keep up with the full schedule of RiverRocks activities.