Join the BCC at Day at the River, put on by our buddies at Friends of the Locust Fork River.  They invite kids from the Blount County area to the river for a day of instruction, investigation, discovery and fun.  The BCC has been part of this event since the inception, about 15 years ago.  We do a limited amount of paddle instruction, then let the kids jump in boats and go paddle around in the pool below the racecourse at Kings Bend.  We need BCC folks there to lend a hand, help a kid get in a boat, do some teaching and keep an wary eye on the kids.  Oh, and we usually manage to swamp most of them at some point, which is the highlight for most kids.

We need volunteers, boats of all kinds, paddles, PFD’s (especially kid sized) and smiling faces.  Saturday, June 15, 8am-3pm.  Lunch will be provided.  King’s Bend on the Locust Fork.  This event is always a blast, and a great way to give back to the community. Contact Shep, bshep@uab.edu.

Cahaba Fest, brought to you by Cahaba Brewing.  A fundraiser for the Cahaba River Society, Saturday, May 11, from noon to 5pm.  The BCC will have a booth with information on the club, trips and paddling classes.  Come enjoy the bands, a bounce house for the kids, and plenty of great beers from Cahaba Brewing.  Free admission, proceeds from beer sales (and skee ball) go to CRS.

Cahaba Brewing taproom on 3^rd Ave at 27^th Street.  Parking available kiddy corner from the taproom, on 27^th St.

***Meet at Gold’s Gym, the Colannade, at 8am on Saturday, March 30***

Paddle a stretch of the Cahaba River with Gordon Black and Dr. Randy Haddock of the Cahaba River Society on March 30.  This will be a fun and educational paddling trip, to learn more about  our local river.  The Cahaba is the most biologically diverse river in the Southeast. We’ll take time to learn a little about the uniqueness of the river along with its role in recreation, habitat and clean drinking water as we paddle along.  We’ll learn about the stresses the river is under, and the efforts underway to preserve and protect it.  Paddlers will also learn about the Cahaba River Society, and hear about ways to join and support CRS. We’ll decide just what stretch of river to do as we get closer to the date, depending on water level.  Anticipate moving water, Class I trip, suitable for tandem canoe, rec kayak or just about anything that floats.  Contact Shep for more info. bshep@uab.edu

Learn about the Cahaba Blueway, a plan to create a water trail along the corridor of the Cahaba River, Alabama’s longest free flowing river.  The Blueway is a project of Alabama Innovation Engine, the Nature Conservancy, the Cahaba River Society and other groups, to boost tourism, eco-development and preservation of the river.

Check the Events page for details on the Sipsey Fork trip on Sunday, Feb. 17

Join us to paddle around two oxbow lakes in Perry County, formed when the Cahaba River shifted its course many years ago.  These small lakes are now basically Cypress swamps (well, one has Cypress, the other has Tupelo trees).  Very interesting places.  The paddling itself will be short.  We’ll also walk a short trail to the Cahaba and have lunch on the river bank.

Sunday, Nov. 25. Rendevous at the Flying J gas station at exit 104 of I-59/20 in McCalla at 9am.   Contact Shep for more info.

The Fall Colors trip will be Oct. 27/28 at the Hiwassee River.  Ashley and Taylor are trip leaders.  Expect to paddle on Saturday, hit the corn maze on Sat. night and hike somewhere in the vicinity on Sun.  Wear a costume down the river Saturday to enter the BCC Halloween Costume Contest.  We’re camping at River Rats.

Do you know how many ten year-olds you can fit on a Torrent?   If you’d been at Day at the River, you would.  Twelve BCC members were on-site for the 13th Day at the River, hosted by Friends of the Locust Fork on June 16. The event drew more than 100 kids, over 50 parents and a slew of volunteers who run educational stations about the natural world, the environment and the river.  Our station was mostly about fun. And being one with the river….or more appropriately, being one IN the river.   We had over 20 boats on hand, and we sent the kids out into the pool at King’s Bend below the racecourse to paddle around.  Then we managed to flip most of them out of their boats. Not that they minded.

Thanks to Mark Garner, Paul Perrett, Donna Shepard, Joan Steed, Bert and Sheila George, Steve and Rhonda Woodock, Lisa Nail and Kristi and Steve Barnett.  They upheld the finest traditions of the BCC, especially Steve Barnett, who does a heck of an imitation of (very) large mouthed bass.  I believe Steve personally swamped 75 of those kids.

Day at the River is one of the best events we do, in my opinion.  We get to impress upon impressionable kids just how much fun rivers are.  They learn a dash of river safety and hopefully they come away with an increased awareness of how important it is to protect our rivers, for drinking water, wildlife, recreation and just plain ole fun.

If you haven’t done Day at the River yet, you are missing out.  If you haven’t done it recently, it’s time to come back. It will be in June again next year, so make plans now to be there.  Oh, and the answer is about six.  Kids on a Torrent, that is.  Torrent’s don’t really sink, but they sure get unstable. Next year we will experiment with tandem boats!

Day at the River, an event from Friends of the Locust Fork River is Saturday, June 16 at King’s Bend.  This event brings kids from Blount and surrounding counties to the river for some good river lessons……and gives the BCC a chance to teach the kids a little about paddling.  We do this every year, and it’s a highlight!  We need club members to come help, bring boats (especially rec kayaks) and kid-sized  PFD’s and paddles.  We start at 8am on June 16.  Lunch will be available and we’ll wrap up around 3.  This is a really good chance to give back to the local community, and to impress on the next generation how much fun rivers can be.  Please make plans to help out!