The Sojourn is an annual event, sponsored by a public partnership of local organizations, to heighten the awareness of and appreciation for the longest un-dammed river east of the Mississippi. A River Odyssey. The journey down the river will begin in Hankins, N.Y., in the Catskill Mountains, and end on New Jersey's Maurice River, a tributary to the Delaware. According to Mathilda Harrison, deputy director of the Pocono Mountains Vacation Bureau, Inc., the Sojourn is divided into four river segments, the Upper, Middle, Lower and Estuary. The Upper and Middle portions of the Sojourn, from June 15 through June 19, are being held in the Pocono Mountains region.
Participants can sign up for individual days or elect to go the full distance.
Educational programs and evening events are scheduled for each day on and along the river. Sojourners can, among other things, start with optional canoe and kayak skills training on June 15, explore Minisink Island and indulge in a gourmet cookout on June 18, and meet the river's only working commercial shad fisherman on June 20. An added attraction this year is an art, essay, and poetry contest open to students in grades 8-12 who reside within the Delaware River Basin, which includes parts of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Entries must be postmarked by April 15. Members of the 2001 Delaware River Sojourn Steering Committee, which is organizing this year's event, include nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and environmental groups in a 4-state area.