If there is a goal to this year’s River Revival event other than to raise money for Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, it’s to cultivate the next generation of nature lovers.
Not that there are any complaints about UCR’s current 5,000 members, but targeting a younger demographic is necessary to maintain the strength of the organization, whose mission is to protect and preserve the Chattahoochee.
That’s why, for this year’s 15th annual revival, which takes place Thursday at Park Tavern at Piedmont Park, the musical lineup swings from Ken Block and Drew Copeland of Sister Hazel to Atlanta southern rockers Ponderosa to Nashville’s The Kicks, a soulful quartet specializing in a brew of rock-country-pop.
“We want to create a thread between middle-aged fans and younger audiences who are moving here. They’re very recreational and when the time comes to bring their musty canoes out of the closet, they’ll know there is a beautiful river here,” said David Lee Simmons, communications director for UCR.
Along with music, the River Revival will include a live silent auction and a presentation of the River Rock Star Awards to filmmakers Rhett Turner and Jonathan Wickham for their documentary, “Chattahoochee: From Water War to Water Vision.”
The ticket price for the event, which usually attracts between 500 and 900 people, includes food, beer from SweetWater and a one-year membership to the non-profit UCR.
River Revival also serves as the official launch of SweetWater’s annual Save the Hooch campaign, which runs from Memorial Day to the Fourth of July and benefits UCR’s river patrol and monitoring programs. To commemorate, SweetWater will reveal its special Waterkeeper Ale at the revival.
It’s a party, yes, but one trying to impart a valuable point.
“This younger generation is a green generation, a more socially conscious generation. They’re probably the first generation to install rain barrels at their homes. This is the generation that’s thinking like that,” said Simmons, “and we want them to ‘get' what our core membership has gotten over the years.”
Event preview
15th Annual River Revival
Performances from Ken Block and Drew Copeland from Sister Hazel, Ponderosa and The Kicks. 6:30 p.m. Thursday. $45. Park Tavern, 500 10th Street N.E., Atlanta. 404-249-0001, www.ucriverkeeper.org/river-revival.php.
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