30 Year Celebration Salon: The French Broad River Paddle Trail,

PRESS RELEASE:

The public is invited to RiverLink to learn about the French Broad River Paddle Trail and hear from three folks who have traveled the French Broad River from start to finish.

Dr. Chris Lechner completed a solo journey on a stand up paddle board in May of 2015. He began at the headwaters of the French Broad River in Rosman, NC on May 17th and finished on May 31 in Knoxville, TN, some 227 miles downstream. Lechner video-taped his adventure while he paddled standing up, slept overnight on his board in the water, portaged around dams and river hazards, and stopped for conversation with fishermen and boaters.

Nelson and Angie Stegall, aka Yukon and Bean, completed a raft “thru-paddle” of the entire French Broad River in June 2016. They started the Yukon and Bean pass through Asheville on their way to thru-paddling the entire French Broad River trip on May 29, in a 13-foot Aire Super Puma raft at Headwaters Outfitters in Rosman, N.C. They paddled and camped along the French Broad River Trail, floating 149 miles and ending June 10 at Douglas Lake, Tennessee.

Please join RiverLink in reliving their adventures on the French Broad River Paddle Trail on Friday, July 15 at 4 p.m.

The event is free but reservations are a must. Click here to go to the sign up page.

Throughout 2016, RiverLink will present a series of monthly events showcasing various aspects of RiverLink’s history and contributions to the Asheville and WNC area. RiverLink’s impact on the community is both varied and powerful. From greenway and park creation to cleaner water, economic development, cleaning “dirty dirt” and much more, RiverLink has been on the cusp of the region’s evolution for decades.

Contact RiverLink’s Dave Russell should you have questions or need assistance — dave@riverlink.org or 828-252-8474, ext. 11

Located in Asheville’s River Arts District, RiverLink is a regional organization spearheading the economic and environmental revitalization of the French Broad River watershed as a destination where everyone can work, live and play.

For more information about how you can get involved, see our Web site: riverlink.org, or contact us at information@riverlink.org or by phone at 252-8474.

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About Thomas Calder
Thomas Calder received his MFA in Fiction from the University of Houston's Creative Writing Program. His writing has appeared in Gulf Coast, the Miracle Monocle, Juked and elsewhere. His debut novel, The Wind Under the Door, is now available.

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