Tag Archives: WWALS River Revue

Join us at the 4-H Club in Lake Park, Georgia, for the WWALS River Revue sit-down dinner with speakers from Georgia and Florida, music from Finalists in the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, and Headliner Joe First, last year’s winner. Plus a silent auction, online and in person.

If you like what we’re doing, with water quality testing and water trails and river and lake outings and hikes and cleanups and chainsaw cleanups, come on down and support WWALS and have some fun! We support rights to clean water and solar power in appropriate places, and we oppose unnecessary mines and datacenters, detention centers, and Jacksonville treated wastewater into the Suwannee Basin (Water First North Florida or WFNF).

WWALS River Revue, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, 4-H Club, Lake Park, GA, 5-9 PM, Saturday, September 12, 2026

Tickets: $65 each:

https://app.betterunite.com/wwals-wwalsriverrevue2026

MC Tim Carroll, a former trumpet player and Valdosta City Council District 5, will introduce the speakers, the Headliner, and the Judges, Anna Stange (Madison, FL), Tony Buzzella (Lake City, FL), and Norm McDonald (Live Oak, FL).

Songwriters, don’t wait until August 12 to send in your song! It can be about any river, creek, spring, sink, swamp, or pond in the 10,000-square-mile Suwannee River Basin or Estuary, or underground water such as the Floridan Aquifer. Continue reading →

Song Submissions open April 1st –Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2026-03-31

Hahira, Georgia, March 31, 2026 — Send in your song starting April First, no fooling! You can send songs until August 12, 2026, for the Ninth Annual Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest.

Entry form: https://forms.gle/fihLNVC2xbD1SXBB6

Finalists will be selected by the organizing committee, and will perform their songs at the WWALS River Revue sit-down fundraising dinner. That will be Saturday, September 12, 2026, 5-9 PM, at the Lowndes County 4-H Club, 6100 4-H Club Road in Lake Park, Georgia 31636.

There will be food, drink, speakers from Georgia and Florida, a silent auction, and the music of a headliner before the Songwriting Contest Finalists play.

“More fun than you can have anywhere off the water!” said WWALS Board member Scotti Jay.

We like songs about issues, nature, history, fun on the water, or community, or whatever tickles your fancy.

For the first time we’re including the Santa Fe River Basin. We used to exclude that Basin, because Our Santa Fe River (OSFR) had a songwriting contest for it. OSFR is not doing that anymore.

Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson, who invented that contest, will do one next year by Rum 138, her outfitter. But she recommends WWALS include the Santa Fe Basin in our Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, “As a result of JEA wanting to send treated wastewater from Jacksonville into the Suwannee River Basin, give us your best songs.”

If you don’t know what she’s referring to, see: Continue reading →

Video: Senate Study Committee on Making Georgia the No. 1 State for Tourism meeting in Valdosta 2025-10-15

Update 2025-10-19: Filthy Sugar Creek 2025-10-17.

WWALS will never have the direct economic effect that many of the other projects described to the five Georgia State Senators this week. But many of our activities require very little economic input, such as water trails, outings, and even the future Troupville Nature Park and River Camp.

And some solutions for things we oppose would have outsized effects.

Video: Senate Study Committee on Georgia Tourism, meeting in Valdosta, 2025-10-15

What does an area need for tourism? A good reputation.

What’s the opposite of that? Stigma, as in:

A strip mine near the Okefenokee Swamp.
Or a long-outdated legal definition of navigability, impeding river passage.
Or sewage and trash in creeks and rivers.

Continue reading →

Senate Study Committee on Making Georgia the No. 1 State for Tourism meeting in Valdosta 2025-10-15

Update 2025-10-18: Video: Senate Study Committee on Making Georgia the No. 1 State for Tourism meeting in Valdosta 2025-10-15.

Update 2025-10-14: Updated agenda and list of Georgia State Senators on the Study Committee.

Update 2025-10-03: Clarification:
This event is primarily for the invited people in the tourism industry.
Please note the breakfast has only enough for the invitees.
You can also watch the speakers in the livestream, so you don’t have to come to see what they say.

Suwannee Riverkeeper is supposed to speak for five minutes to a Georgia Senate Study Committee on Making Georgia the No. 1 State for Tourism.

That will be at 9 AM, Wednesday, October 15, 2025,
at the Rainwater Conference Center, 1 Meeting Place Valdosta GA 31601-7710.
That’s between I-75 Exits 16 and 18.

Senate Study Committee on Making Georgia the No. 1 State for Tourism, Rainwater Conference Center, Valdosta, GA, 2025-10-15

The five Georgia state Senators on the Study Committee are:

Senator Drew Echols (R–Gainesville, District 49), Chairman,
Sen. Sonya Halpern (D–Atlanta, District 39),
Sen. Frank Ginn (R–Danielsville, District 47),
Sen. Russ Goodman (R–Cogdell, District 8),
Sen. Emanuel Jones (D–Decatur, District 10).

The local powers that be are not advertising this meeting, but the Georgia Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus is:
https://www.gacvb.com/senate-study-committee

There doesn’t seem to be any facebook event by the state, county, or city, so here’s one by WWALS:
https://www.facebook.com/events/796397306306784/

I’m listed under Arts & Education Tourism, so I might as well mention the WWALS River Revue and Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, as well as the education component of the future Troupville Nature Park and River Camp.

This committee was completed by Senate Resolution 323, which includes:

WHEREAS, Georgia has beautiful vistas and natural resources meant to be seen and savored, including mountains, canyons, waterfalls, lakes, rivers, and beaches; and

Well, let’s talk about the Mayor and Chairman’s Paddle and the Alapahoochee River chainsaw cleanup with the surprise dead gator. Plus the Banks Lake Full Moon paddles, and the Suwannee River and Okefenokee Swamp campouts and paddles in November and December.

Also: Continue reading →

Bear and Robert of Jacksonville, FL with a folk song, Suwannee River in White Springs 2025-09-06

Bear and Robert sang a song about the Florida Folk Festival, which is held is held at Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park in White Springs, Florida, on Memorial Day, when flags fly.

They wrote for the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest:
https://wwals.net/pictures/songwriting2025

What do you get when you cross a Folkie with a Bluesman? You get Bear and Robert! Bear and Robert (row-bear) are Cindy Bear and Franc Robert, an award winning singer-songwriter duo from Jacksonville, FL. Together their acoustic sound has been described as a deep well of Folk, Blues, and Americana with a high energy Je Nais Se Quois! Their CD’s, “Travels With Bear and Robert,” and “Hearts in Blues,” Franc’s solo and band CD’s, and Cindy’s solo CD “Start Over Again” are available on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, and on their website at https://www.bearandrobert.com

Bear and Robert, Jacksonville, FL, with a folk song 2025-09-06, Suwannee River in White Springs, Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest

They say about their song, “This is a soulful and evocative folk hymn written to transport listeners on a poetic journey to a sacred haven on the banks of the Suwannee River, which is full of cherished memories, and reminiscent of a church.”

Here are Bear and Robert of Jacksonville, Florida, singing their song:
https://youtu.be/_XAxtI3uB1s Continue reading →

Fine Songs at Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest 2025-09-06

Hahira, Georgia, September 11, 2025 — Six songs were sung at the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest in WWALS River Revue, September 6, 2025. The two judges chose a group from Tallahassee for Best Song from Outside the Suwannee River Basin, and a group from Dowling Park, Florida, as overall winner.

Left to right: Organizing Committee Chair Sara Squires Jones; Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman; Bacon James in the back; Bradley Waldron, Dale Dollar, and Lisa Dollar of Saylor Dollar; Sweet William Billy Ennis; Joe First with his musicians Martin Sensiper and John White; Franc Robert and Cindy Bear of Bear and Robert; and Rena Ann Peck.

The overall winner was Joe First of Dowling Park, Florida, with his Americana song, “Beautiful Florida Day.” He got a large plaque and $300. He played accordion, which is a first for the Contest. John White on percussion and Martin Sensiper on guitar.

Continue reading →

Radio: WWALS River Revue and Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, Scott James Radio 2025-09-04

In which Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson revealed that the City of Valdosta plans to double the size of the catch basin at its Withlacoochee Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Also this morning on talk921.com, Suwannee Riverkeeper John S. Quarterman complimented the city on finally fixing one of the chronically-sewage-spewing manholes at Wainwright Drive on One Mile Branch.

Come on down this Saturday evening, 5-9 PM, for WWALS River Revue and the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest at the Turner Center for the Arts, Valdosta, Georgia.

That’s $65 per person. There are also a few complimentary Educator tickets and $25 Musician tickets available if you contact us quickly.

WWALS River Revue and Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest, Scott James Radio, talk921.com 2025-09-04

Here are WWALS videos of the main discussions on the radio this morning, followed by a WWALS video playlist. I’ve added some links to writeups on the topics discussed. And the playlist starts slightly out of order with the Suwannee Riverkeeper Songwriting Contest. Continue reading →

Seven Songs from Florida and Georgia 2025-08-22

Hahira, GA, August 22, 2025 — You’ll hear seven songs written by eleven songwriters from Florida and Georgia, at WWALS River Revue, Saturday, September 6, 2025, Turner Center for the Arts, Valdosta, Georgia.

Flyer: WWALS River Revue 2025

Genres include Americana, blues, two folk songs, two bluegrass, and an American Folk Revival song. Topics range from Florida history to good times on the rivers to defending the Okefenokee Swamp.

Plus a sit-down catered meal, drinks, and a silent auction. With two speakers, from Florida and Georgia, and a headliner.

Follow this link for tickets, sponsorship opportunities, and more:
https://app.betterunite.com/WWALS-wwalsriverrevue2025

“Your ticket or sponsorship helps support everything WWALS does, from water quality tests to paddle outings and chainsaw cleanups, and beyond to advocacy to stop trash at its sources, strip mines, and pipelines. We work for water trails, solar power, and the Right to Clean Water, with growing engagement for youth and marginalized communities,” said organizing committee chair Sara Squires Jones. “Thanks to our sponsors so far (see the flyer). You, too, can be a sponsor! Or just join us for WWALS River Revue 2025.”

Rachel Grubb will headline, with her winning song from last year and her haunting encore.

These are the ten songwriter finalists, in alphabetical order, with a bit they wrote about themselves: Continue reading →

WWALS Watershed Coalition (WWALS) is Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®

A healthy watershed with clean, swimmable, fishable, drinkable water.