Last fall, much of the Southeast was impacted by Hurricane Helene. This devastating storm tore through parts of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia, leaving a wake of destruction in its path. While the fly fishing community came together to support each other and the communities affected, recovery efforts are still ongoing. This weekend, in Asheville, NC—one of the areas hardest hit— Davidson River Outfitters, Hunter Banks Fly Fishing, and Headwaters Outfitters have come together to help host the first Rise: A Fly Fishing Festival to raise money and bring the community together. For details and the full press release, keep reading below.
From Rise: A Fly Fishing Festival
ASHEVILLE, N.C., June 17, 2025 — Wrong Way River Lodge & Cabins and Uproar Concept announce today RISE: A Fly Fishing Festival, taking place on August 24 in Asheville, NC. A portion of proceeds from the one-day event will benefit two local conservation nonprofits: RiverLink & MountainTrue. Both have been vital to recovery efforts in WNC. Borne from Blue Lines, which supports fly fishing guides in Western North Carolina and Tennessee, will host a guide expo during the event in an effort to help them rebuild their customer base after Hurricane Helene.
The festival will take place just weeks from the one-year anniversary of Helene — a highly anticipated milestone for the people and businesses that have worked tirelessly to stand each other back up. Much like a native brook trout chasing a dry fly, together we will RISE to shift the current toward recovery on the river.
The riverfront Wrong Way (9 Midnight Drive, on Amboy Road) will host RISE which will be free and open to the public and include activities like casting and fly-tying competitions, clinics, kid-friendly programming, raffles, and shoppable A-frame cabin “takeovers” by outdoor brands. Festivalgoers will enjoy an eclectic mix of live music in the Wrong Way Meadow and food and drinks from Imposter Pizza Co., Chop Shop Butchery, and featured local breweries.
The stand-out signature of the festival will be the Fish Flash Tattoo Studio set up in Wrong Way’s River Lodge. Multiple local tattoo artists will offer river-centric flash designs, in varying artistic styles, for attendees to choose from.
Wrong Way and Uproar have partnered with the North Carolina Outdoor Economy Office to serve as the Presenting Sponsor for RISE.
Davidson River Outfitters, Hunter Banks Fly Fishing, and Headwaters Outfitters will anchor the festival as featured outfitter partners and gear people up on-site. Each iconic Wrong Way A-frame cabin will be available to outdoor brands for activation to create 16 immersive retail experiences on property. If you are interested in being a cabin exhibitor, or other sponsorship opportunities, please contact shelton@wrongwaycampground.com.
Borne from Blue Lines was a joint venture by Uproar and Headwaters Outfitters, founded shortly after Helene devastated WNC as a way to support members of the close-knit fly fishing community in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The original designs created by Uproar are applied to locally made goods and proceeds from all sales go directly to guides and outfitters.
“Our roots run deep in the Western North Carolina community and our passions focus on many of the amazing experiences offered by its unique outdoor landscape. We consider ourselves very fortunate to support many businesses who manufacture goods and services designed to enrich those experiences through the work we do at Uproar. The toll Helene took on our beloved community affected us on many levels and thus our desire to create an equally strong response manifested initially into Borne from Blue Lines. RISE is the next evolution of this response. A celebration of the community we hold dear designed to give back to organizations who are equally driven to a resilient response,” said Nate Jordan, Co-Founder of Uproar Concept and Borne from Blue Lines.
“We’ve always felt there should be a gathering celebrating the river community and its fly fishing subculture, and after Helene we were more determined than ever to make it happen. Outdoor guides and outfitters are the heartbeat of this place we love; they’re the ones making visitors fall in love with it too. This festival is all of us joining arms and standing each other back up,” said Shelton Steele, Wrong Way Campground Co-Owner.
Announcements about tattoo artists, activities, exhibitors, sponsors, and more, will be made at @bornefrombluelines and you can RSVP for email updates on Eventbrite.
