This past week I got some bad news from my friend Joe, the director of the long-running Outdoors, Inc., Canoe and Kayak Race on the Mississippi River here at Memphis. This year's race, scheduled for June 16, has had to be called off. The reason is that Mississippi River Park, the park next to the finish line that has always been the site of the awards and other post-race festivities, will be closed for construction and remodeling during the month of June. Even though Joe had submitted his permit application to use the park back in January, the Riverfront Development Corporation, the private organization that contracts with the city to manage the public land along the riverfront, did not notify him of this closure until the week before last.
And so, the event that is typically the highlight of my season is off the schedule. I believe it will be sorely missed this year--not just by the canoe and kayak racing community, but by the entire city of Memphis as well, in ways that are less tangible but no less valid. The good news is that Joe says he intends to bring the event back in 2019. Here's hoping that racers will be back on the water with the full support of the R.D.C. and the city of Memphis, and that this year's loss will seem like nothing more than a blip in the history of this great tradition.
No comments:
Post a Comment