Chattanooga celebrates Head of the Hooch

By Clara Bosonetto Maerz

For ajc.com

There's an exciting event being held in Chattanooga over the upcoming weekend that you might want to catch.

A record 8,600 rowers and coxswains will compete in the 2009 Head of the Hooch, November 7 and 8, making the event the second largest rowing regatta in the country.

More than seventy-five percent of high school and college aged rowers from thirty states and Canada will be participating in this year's event. Some top level masters will also join the competition. And, for the first time in the 29-year history of the Head of the Hooch, more women than men will be rowing.

The rowing regatta is free to watch with the best viewing from the pedestrian-only Walnut Street Bridge or Ross's Landing on downtown Chattanooga's Riverfront.

Races will take place Saturday, November 7 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and and Sunday, November 8 from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. During the peak hours of this spectacle, boats are launched every twenty seconds.

If you go, don't miss the Chattanooga Market, the region’s largest authentic outdoor local food and artistry market on Saturday from 8 am to 5 pm. The market is located on Riverfront Parkway near the regatta.

For more information, visit http://www.headofthehooch.org.

If you plan to spend a night or two in Chattanooga over the weekend, check out the deals from as low as $45 a night (Country Hearth Inn Chattanooga) at SideStep.com,

http://www.sidestep.com.