Ridge City Ramblers perform at the Flatwater Festival in 2017. (Photo courtesy Flatwater Festival)

Bands, beer, boat races, and bounce houses. Wine, water, and soda. Face painting, food vendors, and fun for all, including corn hole games.

The second Flatwater Festival presented by the three Rotary clubs of Oak Ridge will be held from noon to 9 p.m. on Saturday, June 2, at Melton Lake Park.

What’s new this year? A team-building regatta featuring up to 20 boats will be held from 12:30 to 5 p.m. in collaboration with the Oak Ridge Rowing Association. A “build a boat” race by participants who make their own cardboard boats ahead of time will be held at 5 p.m.

In addition, the festival at Melton Lake Park is sandwiched between the Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival events on Friday, June 1, at the University of Tennessee Arboretum and Sunday, June 3, at the Oak Ridge Playhouse.

The three-day festival will be a fundraiser for the three Rotary clubs’ community service projects, including four new benches for the Oak Ridge waterfront in 2018, a press release said. [Read more…]