That is why everyone interested in being a part of the milestone birthday is encouraged to sign up and be a part of the Festival.

Applications are currently being accepted for the Miss River Queen and Teen Pageants as well as for volunteers, vendors and talent competitions.

Miss River Queen and Teen

The 2012 pageant will be held Saturday, March 24th, 2012 at 7:00pm in Clement Auditorium on the campus of Austin Peay State University. The Rivers & Spires Festival hosts this yearly beauty pageant for women 15 to 27 years-old. The Miss River Queen and River Teen Pageant is a preliminary pageant to the Miss Tennessee USA and Miss Tennessee Teen USA pageant to be held in October 2012. The winners of the 2011 pageant were Miss River Queen Giselle Fontenot and Miss River Teen Sarah Gross. They will both be at the 2012 Pageant to hand over the crown to the next winners.

Applications are being accepted for the 2012 pageant and the form is due no later than March 5th, 2012. You can go online and download the complete River Queen Application packet at www.riversandspires.com. If you are interested in sponsoring the pageant contact Nikki Loos Peterson at . For those interested in attending, tickets will be for sale at the door.

Volunteers

[320left]Your help makes the festival a success. If it were not for the hard work of the 600-plus volunteers, the festival would not be possible! The festival staff appreciates all who have come out in the past and hope that you will return this year. The festival is always looking for volunteers to help with setup, Kidz Zone, manning beverage booths, manning i.d./ticket booths and cleanup.

If you are interested in being a part of the Rivers & Spires team, please apply online at the Rivers & Spires site and make sure to mark what days you are available. There is no deadline to apply to volunteer.

Vendors and Sponsors

One of the elements that makes Rivers & Spires continue to grow each year is all the vendors that come out and set up booths throughout the festival. From art and collectables to food, businesses and non-profits, people are running all over downtown from zone to zone checking out each booth. Your business needs to be a part of the action!

Go to www.riversandspires.com to see a full description of each application and see which best suits your business. Remember information is being updated daily, so it’s best to check back often. There is still room available, but hurry as booth space is limited and filling up fast. Can’t wait to see you on the streets!

Deadlines for the applications are:

• Artz Galore – April 1st
• Children’s Parade – April 12th
• Commercial Exhibitors – April 15th
• Food Vendors – April 1st
• Green Zone – April 1st
• International Area – April 1st
• Marketplace – April 1st
• Non Profit – Kidz Zone – April 1st
• Quilts on the Cumberland – April 1st

Talent Competitions

[320right]The festival is looking for aspiring musicians to showcase their talent in one of the competitions that take place during Rivers & Spires. From the Last Band Standing to Gateway Realty’s youth talent show, Aspire to Stardom, there is an event that fits every music personality.

These competitions offer an excellent chance to get your talent heard and even offer the chance to be signed with an agent or win some great cash prizes! Each competiton has their own set of audition rules and more information can be found on the Rivers & Spires site.

If interested in applying, visit riversandspires.com and click on the appropriate link under the events section. You will be directed to the event sponsors Web site to apply.

About the Rivers & Spires Festival

The 10th annual Rivers & Spires Festival will be held April 19th-21st, 2012 in Downtown Clarksville. This event has six stages of entertainment with over 100 entertainers performing all three days. From children’s activities, arts & crafts, car shows, military exhibits, jazz and wine, shopping and so much more this is truly an event for the whole family. Admission to the festival is free including all games, activities and concerts.

For more information about Rivers & Spires contact Doug Barber at 931.245.4344 or e-mail .us or visit us at www.riversandspires.com

Become a fan of us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @RIVERSandSPIRES.

There are still openings for bands, artists, businesses, vendors and community volunteers who would like to participate in the event.

Rivers & Spires is a free festival that includes featured entertainment by Little Big Town (and more to be announced).

Rivers and Spires Festival in Downtown Clarksville Tennessee.

For information contact festival director Doug Barber at 931.245.4344, .us or visit www.riversandspires.com.

Participating businesses and non-profits teach visitors about recycling, organic living, nature preservation and conservation. Each of the 12 booths will also have interactive entertainment for the whole family. This year’s Green Zone will have a fun, passport theme. Each booth will have an activity for kids to complete and once they do, their passport will be stamped. When the passport has been stamped by each booth vendor, it can be redeemed for a prize. And like all other activities at the festival, it’s free!

The 2010 Rivers & Spires Festival

The Green Zone is ideal for those who want to display or demonstrate their products and ideas and applications are available until March 31st. We are looking for participants that specialize in organic and sustainable agriculture, distribution of whole foods, reduction of energy consumption and even those who want to display and demonstrate hybrid and electric vehicles. What better stage to get your message out than an area like the Green Zone at the Rivers and Spires Festival.

The Rivers & Spires Green Zone.

The area is presented by the Madison Street United Methodist Church Creation Care Committee and will be held on Commerce Street in the Church parking lot located near the popular Kidz Zone. For more information or to participate in the Green Zone, contact Jessica Goldberg at 931-245-4346 or .us

At the festival, there have been strides to make the whole event green as well. Once again the Rivers & Spires Festival will be encouraging all attendees to recycle their plastic, aluminum, glass and cardboard items by placing them in the appropriate collection bins placed prominently throughout the festival. There will be two recycling bins available for every one standard trash can. It’s an easy and convenient way to keep Clarksville-Montgomery County green. Last year alone there was 42 tons of recycling collected from the festival! Bi-County Solid Waste Management is leading in the recycling effort.

The 9th annual Rivers & Spires Festival will be held April 14th-16th, 2011 in downtown Clarksville. This event has six stages of entertainment with over 100 entertainers performing all three days. From children’s activities, arts & crafts, car shows, military exhibits, jazz and wine, shopping and so much more this is truly an event for the whole family. Admission to the festival is free including all games, activities and concerts.

Visit us at www.riversandspires.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter @riversandspires.

Miss River Queen and Teen:
The 2011 pageant will be held Saturday, March 26th, 2011 in Clement Auditorium on the campus of Austin Peay State University. The Rivers & Spires Festival hosts this yearly beauty pageant for women 15 to 27 years-old. The Miss River Queen and River Teen Pageant is a preliminary pageant to the Miss Tennessee USA and Miss Tennessee Teen USA pageant to be held in October 2011. The winners of the 2010 pageant were Miss River Queen Kyndal Hayes of Germantown and Miss River Teen Katie Kennedy of Clarksville. They will both be at the 2011 Pageant to hand over the crown to the next winners.

Rivers & Spires

Volunteers:
Your help makes the festival a success. If it were not for the hard work of the 600-plus volunteers, the festival would not be possible! The festival staff appreciates all who have come out in the past and hope that you will return this year. The festival is always looking for volunteers to help with setup, manning beverage booths, manning i.d./ticket booths and cleanup. If you are interested in being a part of the Rivers & Spires team, please apply online at the Rivers & Spires site and make sure to mark what days you are available. There is no deadline to apply to volunteer.

Vendors and Sponsors:
One of the elements that makes Rivers & Spires continue to grow each year is all the vendors that come out and set up booths throughout the festival. From art and collectables to food, businesses and non-profits, people are running all over downtown from zone to zone checking out each booth. Your business needs to be a part of the action! Go to www.riversandspires.com to see a full description of each application and see which best suits your business. Remember information is being updated daily, so it’s best to check back often. There is still room available, but hurry as booth space is limited and filling up fast. Can’t wait to see you on the streets!

Deadlines for the applications are:

• Artz Galore – April 3rd
• Children’s Parade – April 12th
• Commercial Exhibitors –April 1st
• Food Vendors – April 7th
• Green Zone – April 1st
• Marketplace – April 8th
• Non Profit – Kidz Zone – April 1st
• Quilts on the Cumberland – April 6th

The 9th annual Rivers & Spires Festival will be held April 14th-16th, 2011 in downtown Clarksville. This event has six stages of entertainment with over 100 entertainers performing all three days. From children’s activities, arts & crafts, car shows, military exhibits, jazz and wine, shopping and so much more this is truly an event for the whole family. Admission to the festival is free including all games, activities and concerts.

For more information about Rivers & Spires contact Doug Barber at 931-245-4344 or e-mail .us or visit us at www.riversandspires.com

Become a fan of us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @RIVERSandSPIRES.

No matter what your ideal entertainment might be, the 2011 festival, scheduled April 14th-16th, will have an array of options to keep your senses busy and your family amused. Of those, are two specialized events that are making their appearance again after successful debuts at past Rivers & Spires Festivals.

The 2010 Rivers & Spires Festival

The Green Zone, back for its third year, is an environmentally aware area that will have booths dedicated to sustainable living. Participating businesses and non-profits teach visitors about recycling, organic living, nature preservation and conservation. Each booth will also have interactive entertainment for the whole family.

This is a great resource for those who love the earth and keeping her clean. The area is presented by the Madison Street United Methodist Church Creation Care Committee and is part of the many free festivities offered during the fun-filled three day weekend. It will be held on Commerce Street in the Church parking lot located near the popular Kidz Zone. For more information or to participate in the Green Zone, contact Jessica Goldberg at 931-245-4346 or .us

The Rivers & Spires Green Zone.

At the festival, there have been strides to make the whole event green as well. Once again the Rivers & Spires Festival will be encouraging all attendees to recycle their plastic, aluminum, glass and cardboard items by placing them in the appropriate collection bins placed prominently throughout the festival. There will be two recycling bins available for every one standard trash can. It’s an easy and convenient way to do your part and keep Clarksville-Montgomery County green. Bi-County Solid Waste Management is leading in the recycling effort.

Doug Barber, festival director said, “We’re excited to bring this environmental initiative back to Rivers & Spires. There were over 42,000 people attending the event last year and we are projecting to grow even more; that can create a large amount of trash. This is our way to do our part and help with community going-green projects.”

Festival Director Doug Barber

On April 14th, from 4:00pm to 8:00pm, the festival will be host to its second annual senior night, Patchwork Premiere. Sponsored by Planters Bank, Patchwork Premiere is located at the intersection of Hiter and Commerce Streets.

“Planters Bank is proud to sponsor the award-winning Patchwork Premiere again this year. The event’s senior adult focus makes it a unique part of the festival and we’re looking forward to a second very successful year,” said Michelle Dickerson, Marketing Director for Planters Bank.

In its first year, Patchwork Premiere wowed leaders in the festival industry at the 2010 International Festivals & Events Association Conference. Rivers and Spires along with Planters Bank won an award for the Best New Event.

Joe Pitts

After receiving notice of winning the award last fall, Rep. Joe Pitts of Planters Bank said, “Planters Bank is pleased to have been a part of the resounding success of the Rivers & Spires Festival this year. We are proud to receive this award reflecting the hard work of Planters Bank employees and countless Rivers & Spires volunteers.”

In addition to the Quilts of the Cumberland exhibit at the Madison Street United Methodist Church, the evening will include refreshments at the bank from 4:00pm to 5:00pm, staged entertainment, make-and-take crafts, a quilt giveaway and various other booths.

The staged entertainment will start at 4:00pm, with the gospel group Still Water kicking off the evening on the Patchwork Premiere stage. While the group has not been together long, followers of gospel music will recognize the sound and some of the faces of this all-male singing group. Next up, at 5:15pm, will be the Queen City Quintet, performing patriotic tributes to the military, Big Band era songs and even a little Broadway. At 6:30pm, Groovefellas will take the stage to entertain the crowd with their own rendition of everyone’s favorite tunes from the 60′s era of rock and roll.

A young boy celebrating his Hispanic Heritage during the 2009 Rivers & Spires Festival

For more information about Patchwork Premiere, visit the Rivers & Spires website at www.riversandspires.com or contact Planters Bank at 931-552-0654.

The 9th annual Rivers & Spires Festival will be held April 14th-16th, 2011 in downtown Clarksville. This event has six stages of entertainment with over 100 entertainers performing all three days. From children’s activities, arts & crafts, car shows, military exhibits, jazz and wine, shopping and so much more this is truly an event for the whole family. Admission to the festival is free including all games, activities and concerts. Applications are still being accepted for sponsors and/or vendors.

For more information about Rivers & Spires or becoming a vendor contact Doug Barber at 931-245-4344 or e-mail .us.

Black is recognized for his string of hits in the 90’s such as Killin’ Time, Nothin’ But The Taillights, Like The Rain and No Time to Kill. Many also know him from his appearance in the film Maverick, special appearance on Extreme Makeover Home Edition and his stint on Celebrity Apprentice with Donald Trump. Black has had more than 30 singles on the U.S. Billboard country charts and of those, 22 were number ones. During his 14 years signed with RCA Records, Black had sold more than 12 million albums. In the early 2000’s, Black formed his own record label, Equity Music Group.

“We are very pleased with the acts that we have booked so far and will continue to announce other acts that will be performing as well,” said Harrington. “Each year the festival grows larger, both in size and attendance, and much of that is due to the headliners and various bands we have been able to book.”

The Rivers and Spires Festival is also happy to announce Brandt Hardin as the winner of the 2011 poster contest. Hardin is the recipient of a complimentary booth during the festival as well as a $500.00 cash prize. Aspects of the selected artwork will be on the 2011 festival poster as well as on festival merchandise including the official Rivers and Spires t-shirt and program. The poster will be distributed to over 100,000 people within Clarksville-Montgomery County and surrounding areas. The runners-up for the 2011 contest are Lynne Griffey of Clarksville and Melanie Jackson of Bumpus Mills.

“The poster submissions were reviewed by a panel of qualified judges and Brandt’s artwork was chosen because it was a standout piece that captured the spirit of the festival and the arts community,” said Doug Barber, Festival Director. “The judges were not aware of who the artists were until the winning piece was selected. We appreciate each person who entered the contest this year.”

The Rivers & Spires Festival will be held April 14th-16th, 2011 in downtown Clarksville. A list of activities and entertainment is available on the festival website www.riversandspires.com. Some of the popular events include Jazz n’ Wine, Kidz Zone, Teen Area and Green Zone. More announcements will be made soon as new events and entertainment are finalized. Applications are available online now for bands, artists, businesses, vendors and those who wish to participate in the festival.

In 2010, more than 42,000 people filled the streets of Downtown Clarksville for the free three-day event. At the International Festivals and Events Association annual conference, Rivers and Spires Festival and several of their sponsors won awards for Best Radio Promotion, Best Sponsor (5 Star Radio Group), Best New Event (Planters Bank) and Best Children’s Programming (Gateway Realty & Investment Group, LLC), beating out over 1,500 other festivals.

Booths are still available for the 2011 event, as well as sponsorships. To participate in the festival as a vendor or sponsor, contact festival director Doug Barber at 931-245-4344 or .us. More information can also be found at www.riversandspires.com.

Daniels is known for his eclectic mix of country and southern rock. The singer, guitarist and fiddler was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 2008 and was recently inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame. The band is well known for their support of American troops and has performed for soldiers at more than 300 shows domestic and abroad.

The Charlie Daniels Band (Front Row: Bruce Brown, Charlie Daniels, Chris Wormer, Back Row: Taz DiGregorio, Charlie Hayward, Pat McDonald)

Singing sensation The Texas Tenors will be performing Friday night at the festival. The Texas trio was among the top 40 acts on Season 4 of “America’s Got Talent.” The a cappella group made it to the quarterfinals of the NBC talent competition series in September. Doug Barber, Rivers & Spires Festival Director, says he saw the group perform on television and knew their mix of country and classical music was a perfect fit for festival.

This year’s festival will have a new look courtesy of local artist Brandt Hardin. Hardin had the winning design in the first ever Rivers and Spires Poster Contest. His work, a unique design which brings together all aspects of the local event, will be seen in festival publications throughout the year and is featured on the website. The poster contest was a huge success and will be held as a regular event in upcoming years.

The Rivers & Spires Festival will be held April 15-17, 2010 in downtown Clarksville. A list of activities and entertainment is available on the festival website www.riversandspires.com. Some of the returning events include Jazz n’ Wine, International Streetfest, Quilts of the Cumberland, Kidz Zone, Teen Area and Green Zone. More announcements will be made soon as new events and entertainment are finalized. Applications are available online now for bands, artists, businesses, vendors or those who wish to participate in festival events.

In 2009, more than 35,000 people filled the streets of Clarksville for the free 3-day event.

At the International Festivals and Events Association annual conference, Rivers and Spires Festival won top awards over 1,500 other organizations from around the world. The festival received top accolades in the “Overall Best Event” category and first place in the “Best New Event Within an Event” category for Quilts of the Cumberland.

Booths are still available for the 2010 event, as well as sponsorships. All corporate sponsors from 2009 have pledged their continued support, along with the City and County Government who graciously offer their ongoing support and provide invaluable resources. To participate in the festival as a vendor or sponsor, contact festival director Doug Barber at (931) 245-4344 or .us. More information can also be found at www.riversandspires.com or www.clarksvillecvb.com.

Photo Gallery

You can view a gallery of images from the 2009 Rivers and Spires Festival.