Looking for free fun for fall? Check out these two upcoming events:
Knoxville Regional Bicycle Program is offering free bicycle classes to both children and adults. These 30-minute classes are customized to help students learn how to ride a bike, start biking again, ride without training wheels, use gears to make riding easier, or ride safely in traffic. There are available slots on Sept. 17 or 23 and Oct. 1. Classes will be held at Tyson Park, Suttree Landing, Kickstand Community Bike Shop and Victor Ashe Park. Sign up at https://www.ibikeknx.com/What-We-Do/Bicycle-Classes.
The 2017 Sturgeonfest is set for 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, at the Seven Islands State Birding Park, in east Knox County. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will release more than 2,000 young sturgeons into the French Broad River. These “living fossils” have lived in Tennessee waters for millions of years. At Sturgeonfest, visitors will be able to hold a young sturgeon and release it into the river. “It is like touching a living dinosaur,” said Kimberly Pettigrew, the Tennessee Clean Water Network’s community health programs director.
Sturgeonfest is presented by TVA. It is free to the public. Pettigrew suggests wearing sturdy shoes and bringing a picnic lunch, camp chairs and hand sanitizer. TCWN will be selling limited-edition Sturgeonfest T-shirts.
Sturgeons are on the Tennessee list of endangered species as complied by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. TWRA estimated that the fish was reduced to one percent of its original population with overfishing and habitat destruction.
In case of inclement weather on Sept. 23, check www.tcwn.org for updates.