RiverLink Hosts Clean up and Celebration on The French Broad River

April 26 - Join the fun from 1 PM to 3 PM with Carolina Mountains Credit Union, along with RiverLink, The Forest Service, and the Little River Volunteer Fire Department collaborating to celebrate the completion and opening of the New French Broad River Access at Penrose, NC, near Brevard. The event, to be held at 170 Apac Drive in Penrose, is part of the Earth Month River Celebration and will begin at 1 PM.


CMCU's special event, called "When Pigs Swim!" , will be a Swimming Pig River Race at 2 PM. This race will be on the order of a rubber duck race, where children can choose a plastic pig, put their name on it, and then cheer along their favorite swimming pig to compete for prizes for first, second, and third pig to the dock. All pigs involved in the race will be rescued by the Little River Fire Department's Swift Water Rescue Team at the end of the race.  You must be present to win! And there is a limit of 150 pigs to enter the race!

There will also be a special appearance by Penny, the Pig, the Carolina Mountains mascot. Carolina Mountains Credit Union and its parent organization, Self-Help Credit Union, have a long-standing relationship with RiverLink. Volunteers from CMCU have participated for years in RiverLink's Adopt-A-Stream days, helping to keep the French Broad River a place to live, work, and play. RiverLink also recognized Self-Help in 2012 with a RiverBusiness Award for its economic development work in the River District. Self-Help's entry in the 2012 Anything That Floats parade, the Fabulous Floating Floral Fantasy, was that year's winner in the "Most Creative" category. Self-Help is also one of the sponsors this year of RiverLink's Voices of the River art and poetry contest.
Carolina Mountains Credit Union was originally chartered by the Employees of Dupont. The land that this new river access is on was once owned by Dupont, who gave it to the Fire Department for water rescue training. The Fire Department signed it over to the Forest Service, who, in turn, worked with RiverLink to develop this new river access point.

RiverLink staff will be present and offer watershed education and hands-on activities with the children.

This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact  828-884-8835.

Located in Asheville's River Arts District, RiverLink is a regional organization spearheading the economic and environmental revitalization of the French Broad River watershed as a destination where everyone can work, live and play.