Paddle Pilgrimage keeps on rolling along

By Vicki Randolph
The American Heritage River Day Festival at New River State Park in Ashe County, N.C. took place last

weekend, but the mission and the Paddle Pilgrimage continues downstream.

Shawn Hash and many others continue to float the New River in honor of the tenth anniversary of the American Heritage Rivers Initiative (AHRI) and the formation of New River Community Partners (NRCP).

While at the festival at New River State Park on June 7, Hash, leader of the flotilla, passed the paddle to New River State Park Ranger, Scott Robinson. The paddle is engraved with the title of the float, and honors the New River and its watershed communities.

"Tenth Anniversary Paddle Pilgrimage, New River National Heritage River, June 7-21, 2008," is the message the paddle carries from place to place. Telling a story to all it passes by.

Shawn Hash, who runs Tangent Outfitters out of Pembroke, Va., had the idea to connect all of the Festivals commemorating the AHRI tenth anniversary. Three festivals are being celebrated this month, the one at New River State park was on the seventh, the one at Radford, Va. was on the fourteenth, and the one still to come this weekend in Hinton, W.Va. is on the 21st.

Hash and those with him began floating and paddling weeks ago, and will be on the river until pulling out at the West Virginia Days Festival in Hinton. Another group will pick up where they left off, later in August to finish the rest of the river.

The purpose of the trip is not only to connect the festivals, but to also connect all of the people, places and communities in between. "The idea of the float is to promote upstream advocacy with downstream responsibility," says Hash. "Building relationships is the key thing-when people get together and establish relationships, good things happen."

Hopefully all of the celebrations and the Paddle Pilgrimage will continue to raise awareness with everyone in the watershed. All of our actions affect the river as well as all of those living downstream.

Hash, NRCP, and others involved are encouraging residents of the New River Watershed to make a pledge for clean water. Some of the actions they are asking watershed residents to take are listed below/at right/at left (wherever you put the inset box!). Some can easily be done immediately, others require more of a commitment.

While at the festival in Radford, the flotilla members offered rides in a canoe, marking the route of the historic Ingles Ferry, which was a vital part of the Wilderness Road and westward expansion. Many festival participants took advantage of the opportunity, while enjoying interpretive history presentations about the old ferry crossing and the Ingles family.

Radford Heritage Days was a very successful festival, with many regional visitors. There were also several Ashe County, NC residents who made the trip as well. Ken McFadyen, executive director of New River Community Partners, was among them. "We have been very pleased with the the turn out at both of the festivals," he says. "The one in Ashe County was especially well attended, considering it was a first time event." More than 1,000 people came to celebrate at New River State Park.

Stayed tuned next week for Paddle Pilgrimage news from West Virginia. Interested in taking a weekend river get-a-way? Check out West Virginia Days at Hinton, W.Va. For more information click to www.hintonwva.com.