Pictured from left to right are: Betsy Gibson, HP Rotary Club member; Chip Baker, Friends of the Festival; Stan Russell, Hamilton Place Rotary Club president; Billy Weathers, HP Rotary Club member.
Chip Baker, executive director of Friends of the Festival, was the featured speaker at the Rotary Club Of Chattanooga Hamilton Place this week.
Mr. Baker spoke on the activities and events the Friends of the Festival manages and brings to Chattanooga, such as the Replica of the Moving Vietnam Wall, Riverfront Nights, waterfront management and special events, the LST 325 that participated in the Normandy Invasion, and the Chattanooga Unite - Tribute on the River in honor of the fallen military men who lost their lives in our city in July, 2015.
The event they are most known for is the Riverbend Festival. June 2016 marked 35 years of Riverbend. The festival started in 1982 with around 1,000 attendees and in 2016, there were 350,000 attendees. "The main goals during the 1982 initial development of the festival was for economic benefit, bringing people together, and advertisement for our scenic city," officials said. "Riverbend ranks in the top 10 percent of all American festivals, and 80 percent of funds raised remain within our local area. Riverbend provides $29,610,000 in economic impact to our city. Perhaps the most important impact Riverbend makes is bringing people together from diverse backgrounds to enjoy music in a special place that holds so much of Chattanooga's history."