Mark your calendar for the seventh annual Mississippi River Challenge — July 24th and 25th, 2010.

Despite the snow and cold, it’s time to start thinking about summer — and with summer comes the Mississippi River Challenge. Put it on the calendar: July 24th and 25th, 2010!

This, the seventh year of this event, will feature all of the great amenities of past years: Saturday morning shuttling, outstanding food and cold beverages, interpretive information at each stop, sag support, gear hauling, festivities and overnight camping at Historic Fort Snelling, fundraising and paddling help, and online “paddler pages” to make pledge-raising more convenient.

This one- or two-day, canoe or kayak, fully supported paddle down the Twin Cities stretch of the Mississippi River is not only a one of a kind paddling event, but an opportunity for you to help your local river by raising pledges to support FMR’s work. Like last year, we need your help to spread the word and recruit new paddlers, and we want to reward you for it!

Registration for the 2010 Mississippi River Challenge opens March 1st, and there are many great ways to qualify for registration fee discounts. (In addition, the registration process will be smoother and easier than ever.) To receive discounted registration, you can:

• Register before April 1st,
• Become a member of FMR (or have done so already within the last year),
• Volunteer for FMR (or have done so within the last year), and/or
• Become a recruiter and bring new people to the event.

To learn more about the event and recruitment incentives, or to register, visit MississippiRiverChallenge.org.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Kristin at 651.222.2193 x19. And don’t forget: by inviting a few friends, family members, co-workers, neighbors or even complete strangers you will help make the 2010 Mississippi River Challenge an extra special event while bringing more support to the river you love. (You can start today by emailing them this webpage; select “Send to a friend” below.)

Thanks to our sponsors already on board for this year’s event: Aggregate Industries, American Canoe Association, Big River Magazine, Historic Fort Snelling, KARE 11, Midwest Mountaineering, Minnesota Monthly, National Park Service, Pioneer Press/TwinCities.com, and Surly Brewing Co.

If your company, or one you know of, is interested in becoming a sponsor for the 2010 Mississippi River Challenge and receiving some outstanding marketing benefits and community please contact Kristin at 651.222.2193 x19 for more information.

We hope to see you on the river with us, July 24th and 25th!

Paddle it! Protect it!