Downtown Saturdays – Spirit of the Sun
When: 12pm, Saturday, July 7, 2018
Where: Bridgepoint Plaza
The Office of Downtown Development is excited to bring a new event to Downtown Rome on July 7th as a part of the Downtown Rome Saturdays series.
To highlight Rome’s natural beauty and the three rivers that run downtown, the DDA Promotions Committee is bringing full day of fun by the river, the inaugu
ral Spirit of the Sun Festival.
ral Spirit of the Sun Festival.To kick off this fun-filled day, there will be a fishing tournament, the Kingfisher Classic, starting at 8 a.m.
The highlight of this day will be the Chieftain’s Challenge paddle race kicking off at 1 p.m. on Rome’s rivers. Friendly to both kayaks and stand up paddleboards, this race will go along all three rivers, the Coosa, the Oostanaula, and the Etowah and will begin at Heritage Park.
Novices and elites both have the opportunity to race for cash and prizes. The 1 and 3 mile novice friendly open races are designed for adult recreational paddlers of all abilities. The elite 6 mile race is geared for adult experienced paddlers and those training for the season’s sanctioned races. These races will be open to SUP and non-SUP vessels.
Registration will be available on our Paddleguru race website. (https://paddleguru.com/races/ChieftainsChallenge)
Sweetwater Brewery will be sponsoring the Sweetwater Barge. The Roman Holiday will serve as the barge and will be docked and boarding at Heritage Park and then travel to the river confluence to watch the races. There will have tastings available as well as food from Moes. There will be two sessions, one from 1:15-2:45 and one from 3:15-4:45. Tickets are $40 and you must show up at your scheduled time to be able to board.
Tickets on Freshtix:
https://www.freshtix.com/events/vip-sweetwater-barge-session-2
The Spirit of the Sun Festival will feature live music, fun activities, yoga and SUP demos, and the opportunity to enjoy food, drinks, and craft beer from downtown businesses all day.
The race after-party at Bridge Point Plaza will begin at 5 p.m. with awards and then feature a FREE concert with summer vibes from Mario Davis. There will be no coolers allowed; Moe’s Original BBQ and River Dog will have armbands available for those over 21.
Race entry fees include a t-shirt with proceeds going to our local river protectors, the Coosa River Basin Initiative, located in Downtown Rome. Don’t miss the opportunity to be a part of the beginning of what is sure to become one of our regions epic SUP racing events!
This celebration of our three rivers – the Oostanaula, Coosa, and Etowah – is created to encourage local citizens and visitors to take in the majesty of our rivers that run through downtown and enjoy our riverside walking paths and pedestrian bridges overlooking the race course. Of course, all of the downtown restaurants and shops will be available to eat and dine at all day.
This new event is made possible by the downtown business and property owners located in the Business Improvement District (BID) as well as our sponsors: River Dog, SweetWater, Moes, Yolo, Cohutta Fishing Co, Blue Sky. Proceeds from this event will benefit the Coosa River Basin Initiative. For more information head to the website: www.spiritofthesunromega.com or check out Downtown Rome’s social media @DowntownRomeGA.
For questions please call the Office of Downtown Development at 706-236-4520 or email mtreglown@romega.us.