Here's the message from RiverLink Executive Director Karen Cragnolin via the nonprofit's email newsletter:

Dear RiverLovers,

Brrrrr -- it did get cold quick! But I just know we will have Indian summer in October, which is just perfect weather for taking a walk along the greenways in the Wilma Dykeman RiverWay.

Speaking of greenways how many of you were living here in 1995 when we sponsored the "Greenways Bring Greenbacks to our Community" greenway conference? Click here for the brochure: (part1) (part 2). We attracted over 400 participants from around the southeastern USA and helped jumpstart the greenway discussion locally. Most importantly, we got the economic development aspects of greenways into the public discussion in WNC. Today we have 4.5 miles of greenways along the river, and we need your help. Help us by joining our new Adopt-a-Greenway program. Click here for the guidelines.

We are also very interested in a group to help us with on-going trimming at the RiverLink Sculpture and Performance Park on Riverside Drive. If you want to become involved and Adopt-A-Greenway or Adopt-A-Stream call or email us at volunteer@riverlink.org to learn how. Also see below for information on the greenway master plan hearings being sponsored by Buncombe County.

Be make sure to check out the Hominy Creek Greenway celebration described in this newsletter. RiverLink contributed to the acquisition of this new 11-acre stretch of the greenway along Hominy Creek and was fiscal agent for the project and Blue Ridge Bike Club. We are happy to continue in that role and one of our staff folks, Nancy Hodges, serves on the board of Friends of Hominy Creek. Greenways are leanways for everyone -- our melting pots!

Speaking of conferences, I just got back from the Blue Planet Conference in Montana. Wow! I was in rarified company with astronauts, World Bank folks, UNESCO officials, World Health Organization directors, and representatives from over 40 counties and everyone was talking about water! We were in our element. Haley Smith, one of our Education Coordinators, presented the scale model she designed of the complete urban water cycle. Click here for a photo. Hayley is developing a curriculum now and a manual to use the model so we can bring the model into classrooms and to conferences as a new interactive teaching tool. If you would like to arrange a demonstration of the model contact us at education@riverlink.org.

More conference news -- RiverLink is hosting the River Management Society conference in Asheville this April. We are working on getting continuing education credits for landscape architects, architects, teachers and engineers who attend. Of course this will be another fabulous opportunity to show off to the 400 professionals from around the world expected to register our wonderful diverse watershed and all the great projects we are working on from overnight camping to phytoremediation and new greenway development.

Don't miss the Porge Buck retrospective at the Phil Mechanic Building in October. Printmaker Porge and husband Lewis were the pioneers of the artists on the urban riverfront, in what we call today the River Arts District. It was like old home week at the opening reception, with former artist pioneers coming back to toast Porge and Lewis and talk about the old days! The only artists from the original group still on the river is Heinz Kossler who is a ceramic artist and has his studio now at the Wedge.

We are gearing up for Winter Warmer again this year. It will be held at the Civic Center on January 21 and be another huge celebration of our community's beer prowess. You know you can't make good beer without good water and we all know that Asheville and WNC have great beer! Tickets will go on sale soon according to Trish Lyons, who, with husband Mark, organize the festival. RiverLink will be the recipient again this year of a percentage of the profits. We will dedicate whatever money is raised from all the wonderful brewers at Winter Warmer to further greenway development along the river again this year.

We cleared nearly $7,000 at RiverFest this year thanks to all the hard work of the Asheville Radio Group and contributions by our sponsors Prestige Subaru and Southeastern Sports Medicine! The Musician's Workshop folks are non-stop contributors for this event who vet the bands and keep the music coming with a welcoming smile and a helping hand. The Anything that Floats Boat parade is a hoot -- make sure to build your yacht and join us next year if you missed it this year!

Rumor is that Mr. Green will soon be cooking up his famous fried chicken again at Green's Mini Mart on Depot Street. If you never tasted Mr. Green's fried chicken? Well, what can I say? Don't miss this opportunity again! Savor the fried chicken then walk it off on the Wilma Dykeman RiverWay. We are helping Mr. Green establish a website, so if you are web savvy and would like to help give me a call at 828-252-8474, ext 16.

Thanks so much for all you do and see you on the River,

Karen

P.S. Have you been following the Occupy Wall Street and Asheville events? When it started I wasn't sure that it would gain any traction. But this week a Nobel Prize winner for economics, Joe Stiglitz, spoke to and encouraged the crowd to keep protesting. Stiglitz said, that "... too much wealth was in the hands of too few people." This movement has spread across the country using social media. I will never again doubt the power of the internet. Speaking of social media, are you one of the 3,951 people who have "friended" us on Facebook? Do you follow us on Twitter? Have you ever read our blog?