5 Rivers Set to Open Friday By DAVID RAINER
The gateway to one of the nation’s most treasured natural areas will be opened this week with the unveiling of 5 Rivers – Alabama’s Delta Resource Center on Battleship Parkway.
The 80-acre site sits on the Causeway between Mobile and Spanish Fort where the five rivers – Blakeley, Appalachee, Spanish, Tensaw and Mobile – flow into the head of Mobile Bay.
 The center that will be open to the public is unparalleled in the state, according to Barnett Lawley, Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
“It’s the crown jewel of the State Land Division facilities,” Lawley said. “It’s a great education facility that does justice to the Delta, one of greatest natural resources in Alabama. It was built for visitors to enjoy, explore and see what we’ve got and learn more about the state.
“And I absolutely see it as a place for people to stop, learn and see on their way to and from the beach. It’s also worth a trip just to go see 5 Rivers. We want to do anything that we can do to showcase the abundant natural resources we have in Alabama. This is the culmination of a six-year, multi-million dollar project. While people may think that’s an expensive facility now, 20 years from they’ll realize just what a bargain it is.”
The magnificent Mobile-Tensaw Delta is one of few areas in the nation designated as National Natural Landmark, the largest area in the state with that designation. And Alabamians are fortunate that more than 107,000 acres of the approximately 200,000 acres of wetlands in the Delta is public land, acquired in part through the Forever Wild program.
The 5 Rivers site offers visitors a portal into the Delta at Bartram Landing, the terminus of the Bartram Canoe Trail. The center also presents educational opportunities at the Appalachee Exhibit Hall, the Tensaw Theatre and the Blakeley Hall classroom facility. Visitors can spend an entire day at 5 Rivers, walking the trails, having a picnic, touring the Delta by boat and viewing the extensive exhibits on site.
The 5 Rivers Delta Center highlights the fact that Alabama has the fourth highest plant and animal diversity in the U.S. Much of this diversity is found in the Delta with its abundant animal species from the American alligator to the rare Alabama red-bellied turtle to a variety of waterfowl, not to mention some outstanding angling for freshwater and inshore saltwater fish. The flora includes stunningly tall cypress trees draped with Spanish moss and wetlands with thatches of palmetto fronds.
“We feel like 5 Rivers is unique in our area, and possibly the nation, as a conservation tool, a way to get people into the issues surrounding conservation and conservation programs,” said Jim Griggs, director of the State Lands Division. “It’s a way to teach good land stewardship and responsible use of our natural resources. And it’s a way to get people outside. The real purpose of 5 Rivers is to get people into the Delta; it’s a natural landmark that’s taken for granted by a lot of people.”
To commemorate the opening weekend, the entire Causeway area will join in the celebration with the Delta Blues Festival at 5 Rivers. On Saturday, world-famous Richard Johnston, a one-man-band, will highlight the entertainment, which starts at 2 p.m. During the festival, the 5 Rivers’ Tensaw Theater, with its wide screen and surround sound, will present the Max Shores documentary, Richard Johnston: Hill Country Troubadour. The film originally aired on PBS and has received 10 nominations by national and international film festivals. Admission to Saturday entertainment is free.
On Sunday, some heavyweights in blues will take the stage. Tab Benoit and Shemekia Copeland will perform live in concert. Benoit has been called one of the most important performers on the modern blues scene. His album - Fever for the Bayou - won Best Contemporary Blues Album last year, while Brother to the Blues was nominated for a 2007 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album. Copeland has been called the next Tina Turner. She blasted her way into the music scene at 18, and in the last 10 years has collected five Blues Music Awards, a Grammy© nomination and five Living Blues Awards.
Gates open at 12:30 p.m., with music from 2 to 6 p.m.. Tickets are $12 in advance ( or purchase 10 tickets in advance and pay only $10 each). All tickets are $17 each the day of the show. Tickets are available at Five Rivers, at all participating restaurants, at the Frontgate Outlet at 354 Dauphin Street, Mobile, or online at www.frontgatetickets.com.
But the fun doesn’t end when the concerts are finished. Festivalgoers can enjoy some of the Gulf Coast’s outstanding seafood and continue the blues celebration Saturday and Sunday evenings at the Bluegill Waterfront Amphitheatre, Ed's Seafood Shed's Bayfront Deck, Felix's Swamp Room and The Original Oyster House Tiki Room.
“The thing about 5 Rivers is it’s a tourist destination,” Griggs said. “The fun won’t end after opening weekend. We’ll have entertainment at different times, and each week we’ll have Saturday Adventures. Every Saturday people can show up at 10 o’clock and learn how to do something in the outdoors they didn’t know how to do before. There are no reservations and no charge. Whether it’s learning to hunt a white-tailed deer, if you’re not a hunter, to learning to fly-fish from a canoe or kayak, to learning how to canoe or backpack or where to go to camp – various hands-on opportunities.
“We can’t explain how excited we are that this project has reached fruition.”
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