The Byrdstown-Pickett County Chamber of Commerce postponed the inaugural Pickett County Kids Fishing Rodeo because of safety concerns surrounding forecasted severe weather.
Byrdstown-Pickett County Chamber of Commerce Executive Tourism Director Bryan Arms said organizers will meet with Sunset Marina and the other groups involved before selecting a new date for the event at Plank Yard Harbor.
“We are going to meet on that with the tourism committee and folks involved in this event, meet with Sunset and get all the game players together and meet and talk and try to find a good time we can all get back together and do this thing,” Arms said. “Got a lot of coordination and scheduling to do.”
Arms said organizers want the first fishing rodeo to be an experience families will want to remember.
“The biggest thing we want to come out of this, one of them is just to get a real good first-time experience and we didn’t want to have to put anybody in any kind of danger or fight the weather,” Arms said. “And we want a memorable, good memory coming out of this event.”
Arms said the local high school team and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency had been scheduled to participate on the original date. Organizers will need to coordinate with those groups as they determine when to hold the event.
The catch-and-release rodeo is designed for Pickett County children ages seven to 12. Staff will photograph the fish caught during the event for recognition.
“We’d love to get them away from the cell phones and get them out here looking at the beautiful scenery and just want to make that a special event for our kids,” Arms said.
Arms said the chamber will announce the new date once arrangements have been finalized. Updates will be available through the Byrdstown-Pickett County Chamber of Commerce Facebook page and local newspapers.