Save the Swamp Mardi Gras Party

5 – 8 p.m. on Feb. 21 (Fat Tuesday) in Atlanta

The urgent fight to protect the Okefenokee Swamp from mining is burning brightly in Georgia right now, but we need your help to stoke the fire. To help advocates like you get FIRED UP about the issue, Georgia River Network is hosting a community backyard bonfire event: Save the Swamp Mardi Gras Party.

Come out to support the cause and enjoy live music by Rob Jordan’s band Five & Dime, a low-country boil and refreshments provided by Fire Maker Brewing, Molson Coors and Terrapin Beer Co. while communing with fellow advocates around a huge Christmas tree bonfire. If you’re lucky, before the night is over you just might find the baby in the King Cake and be crowned King or Queen of Mardi Gras!

Also, be sure to purchase tickets for the High Country Kayak Raffle (scroll down to learn more). The drawing will take place at 7:15 p.m. during the event but you need not be present to win! The winner will be announced live in-person at the event and on Georgia River Network’s social media channels (linked at the bottom of this page).

This event will take place smack dab in the middle of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division’s public comment period for Twin Pines, LLC’s mining permit application. After you get your tickets, be sure to click the button to submit your comment to the EPD. If you want to learn more about the issue and get help crafting your comment, click here.

Don’t miss out on the fun:

Huge Bonfire
Live music by Rob Jordan’s band Five & Dime
High Country Outfitters Kayak Raffle (link to purchase tix coming soon)
Low-country boil
Refreshments provided by Fire Maker Brewing, Molson Coors and Terrapin Beer Co.
Mardi Gras activities and prizes

Attend the Party

Sponsor the Party

Learn More & Send an Email to the EPD

Directions & Parking: The venue is in a residential area with limited street parking available, so carpooling and ride share are encouraged! You will find the event address in your ticket purchase confirmation email.

COVID-19 Considerations: This event is in-person and fully outdoors. In an effort to ensure the safest experience for all guests, this event will follow the CDC recommendations for gatherings (vaccination & boosters are recommended).

High Country Kayak Raffle (need not be present to win!)

Enter to win a Wilderness Systems Targa 100 Kayak in Mango (value: $999) from High Country Outfitters! The Targa 100’s lightweight design (10’3 & only 57lb) is an easy grab-and-go sit-on-top recreational kayak.

Thank you to the raffles sponsor, High Country Outfitters (HCO). HCO and Georgia River Network are teaming up to help protect Georgia’s waterways! All raffle proceeds support Georgia River Network’s river conservation and recreation initiatives, including maintaining the Georgia River Guide mobile app and protecting the Okefenokee Swamp from mining.

Tickets are $5 and the drawing will take place at Georgia River Network’s Save the Swamp Mardi Gras Party on February 21st at 7:15 pm (but you need not be present to win!). The winner will be announced in-person and on Georgia River Network’s social media channels (linked below). If you win the kayak, Georgia River Network will staff will email you to coordinate a pick in the Atlanta area.

Raffle Ticket Prices:
1 for $5, 2 for $10, 3 for $15
6 for $25 , 8 for $35, 12 for $50

Kayak Raffle Tickets

Thank You to Our Tributary Trustee Sponsor

The Urgent Need to Protect the Okefenokee Swamp

This celebration will also serve as a fundraiser for Georgia River Network’s many river conservation and recreation initiatives, including the fight to protect the Okefenokee Swamp from mining.

The Okefenokee Swamp, one of Georgia’s seven natural wonders; the largest blackwater swamp in North America; and a wetland of international importance, is threatened by a proposed titanium mine.

Twin Pines Minerals, LLC, an Alabama mining company with a poor track record of environmental stewardship, has asked federal and state authorities permission to operate a 898-acre heavy mineral sand mine next to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. This is the first phase of a mining operation on a 12,000-acre site. The company proposes digging 50-foot deep trenches in Trail Ridge, the very rise of land that helps regulate water levels in the swamp. These excavations would extend below the water table of the swamp and could alter water levels in the swamp.

At risk is one of the last self-contained, naturally functioning wetlands left on Earth. Among the most visited National Wildlife Refuges in the country, the Okefenokee hosts some 600,000 visits annually who help create more than 750 local jobs and a total annual economic output of $64.7 million in the four counties surrounding the swamp.

Learn More & Take Action