Grab your paddle, binoculars, mountain bike or chalk bag — a new kind of festival is coming to town.
This fall, Chattanooga will introduce a 10-day outdoor recreation event series that planners hope will foster an appreciation for the city’s lush natural resources and inspire efforts to protect them.
The RiverRocks festival will feature more than 40 events between Oct. 1-10, including live music and local farmers’ markets as well as adrenaline-pumping races and activities scattered across the city and its nearby mountains and waterways.
The festival also heralds what the event’s founder calls an “evolution” in how residents and tourists view Chattanooga, deemed the dirtiest U.S. city in 1969 and now a destination for outdoor enthusiasts nationwide.
“This is much bigger than a 10-day festival in October,” said founder Mike McGauley. “It really is something that signals why this community is so special and why it is unique.”