Update on the KCCI Explore Outdoors Adventure Race…
Hello friends of KCCI Explore Outdoors! Here’s an update on the KCCI Explore Outdoors Adventure Race…
The Explore Outdoors team has met with two amazing adventure race route planners who are willing to help us figure out, based on the components of the race and in the interest of bringing in the community, a start and end location for the event. We’re including a post-race celebration and would like to have it in a centrally located, decently well-known area. Although we initially thought we would have this in August, we decided that we needed to look at holding the event in October (the cooler days), so that we could rule out heat exhaustion as one of our major problems we’d have to troubleshoot.
The Explore Outdoors Adventure Race will be designed to allow all outdoor enthusiasts, from the curious newcomer to the nature aficionado, to come together to celebrate what it means to “Explore Outdoors”. The event base (where the race begins and ends) will be a plethora of entertainment and information to aide in the awareness of what our region has to offer. Our goal is to encourage the discovery and use of the many natural resources that define North Florida.
Event Goals:
- Showcase the region and what it has to offer in terms of outdoor activities
- Bring together vendors, groups and enthusiast to encourage more positive change and continued growth of eco-highlights. Vendors will consist of local related businesses, training/racing groups, area informational groups, food, health related organizations and all other groups that are relevant.
- Encourage growth of region as an eco-tourism destination
- Bring knowledge to locals…
o Long Term Residents – remind them of the outdoor venues and highlights they may not have known existed, or have forgotten about.
o Transients/Students – help them realize there is more than the five mile radius of universities
o Newcomers – Encourage idea that Tallahassee is more than just education and politics. - Promote Tourism in the Big Bend Region
o Those who are looking to find more to do once they arrive on a trip already planned (secondary)
o Those who are visiting the region based on its current Eco tour qualities (primary) - Raise money to sustain Explore Outdoors and all its endeavors
If you or anyone else is interested in volunteering your time and talents for the Adventure Race team, if you know of anyone who is interested in working on the project and/or if you know of any sponsors/vendors who may be interested, please contact Crystal Green at crystal@ysocialbutterfly.com.
Thank you for your interest!
The Wildlife Heritage & Outdoors Festival- St. Marks – February 6
The Wildlife Heritage & Outdoors Festival will be at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge 11am-4pm February 6. The event will provide guests of all ages with outdoor experiences, such as fishing, hiking, photography and archery, in hopes to excite them to reconnect with nature and wildlife. For information call (850) 925-6121 or follow this link to view the flier: http://www.fws.gov/saintmarks/pdf/HeritageOutoodrsFestival.pdf
See you there!
Explore Outdoors Need You!
The KCCI “Explore Outdoors” initiative is moving along and we are very excited about this project and are looking forward to promoting this region’s amazing outdoor resources and activities with residents and visitors alike.
We are still very much in the beginning stages of developing what this project will entail but we will need community support and volunteers to make this happen and we hope you will express interest in being one of the project’s “Community Volunteers”. Please contact Mallory Brooks with KCCI at mallory.brooks@kccitallahassee.com if you are interested in helping. As we further develop this initiative, we will definitely be in touch to see how you can help out. We will need support from people in all facets of the outdoor community and beyond, from IT needs to advocacy, event volunteers and much, much more, so if you have a particular skill that you think would be beneficial, please let us know! This is a huge undertaking, and we need all the resources that we can find.
STAY TUNED!!!
Explore Outdoor – List of Outdoor Activities. What are we missing????
Explore Outdoors: Go Urban!
Go Rural!
Go Wild!
Go North Florida!!!!
Below are activities that originated from our first brainstorming session. Help us….what are we missing?
- ATV/4-Wheeling
- Boating
- Camping – RV, tent, primitive, cabins
- Canoeing and Kayak
- Cave Diving
- Cultural/Historical
- Cycling – On-Road, Mountain Biking, BMX
- Fishing – Saltwater, Freshwater, Flats, Off-shore, Flyfishing
- Go Carting
- Hiking
- Historical Tours
- Horseback Riding
- Hunting – deer, hog, duck, quail, dove, turkey, alligator
- Marine Science
- Motocross
- Running
- Sailing
- Scalloping
- Scuba Diving
- Spear Fishing
- Swimming
- Walking Tours
- Water Skiing
- Wildlife Watching – Bird, Manatee, Alligator
- Windsurfing
What else????
GO Urban! GO Rural! GO Wild! GO North Florida!
KCCI has announced one of its newest initiatives, Explore Outdoors, and is excited about the prospects associated with promoting outdoor activities in the North Florida Region.
Explore Outdoors’ mission is to promote Tallahassee and the surrounding Big Bend counties (Leon, Franklin, Jefferson, Wakulla, Gadsden) as a premier outdoor recreation destination. By promoting the multitude of outdoor activities and lifestyles available in this unique area, Explore Outdoors hopes to expand economic development opportunities associated with outdoor pursuits, as well decrease the flight of the creative class, increase tourism, bring new residents to the community, protect and promote the areas natural resources and create a sense of place for our current and future residents by educating and engaging them on the area’s outdoor activities.
We hope to engage all sectors of society by encouraging outdoor activity based socialization among all ages, races, and genders. We plan to target: Visitors who seek an “Experience”, not just another town; Residents who want to feel a sense of “Place” and be part of a community that offers outdoor activities of interest; Students who rarely learn about what the region offers off of campus; Everyone needs to know about what is really special and unique about this region and its outdoor offerings.
This area is unique not because of one or two outdoor activities available, but rather because of the vast number and variety of those activities: Fishing of all types, Kayaking and Canoeing, Wildlife watching, Cave Diving, Cycling, Hunting, Camping, and Hiking to name only a few.
The KCCI community catalysts associated with Explore Outdoors very excited about this project and encourage you to get involved and stay tuned for more exciting news as the project progresses. We would love to hear your comments and suggestions. If you would be interested in getting involved, please contact Mallory Brooks at mallory.brooks@kccitallahassee.com.