Get Your Guide
With five days of music, arts events, culinary experiences, and more, it might be hard to decide exactly what to do America’s River Roots.
Luckily, there’s an app for that. In fact, there are three!
Start your journey to America’s River Roots by downloading the festival app. The new app allows you to sort by day, category, and even customize your experience to maximize your fun at the festival.
On Monday, organizers unveiled the Riverwalk app, as part of a rededication of The Riverwalk at Sawyer Point. Developed as a centerpiece of the city’s bicentennial, The Riverwalk symbolizes the city’s history as a river town and its commitment to preserving and revitalizing the riverfront for future generations. The new app expands that idea, offering new ways to explore history, culture, and geography on both sides of the river.
“The Riverwalk App, was created by America's River Roots to digitally deliver a brilliant walking tour originally conceived for the area in 1988 and expanded since,” says app designer Holly Brians Ragusa. “This legacy-gift app allows a new generation, locals and visitors alike, to take a technological step into our award-winning riverfront on the beautiful banks of the Ohio River at Cincinnati, Newport, and Covington.
The Riverwalk app includes familiar points of interest like the National Steamboat Monument and the Cincinnatus sculpture from the city’s bicentennial, but incorporates new developments in Smale Riverfront Park, including the Black Brigade Monument and Verdin Chimes, plus information about statues along the Covington riverfront and the Newport floodwall mural.
“With geolocation, a historical tour and gallery, trivia, treasure hunts and customized walking tours, you can stretch your legs and learn more about this significant region,” says Brians Ragusa. “I am grateful to River Roots founders for their vision and the Srysis team for the app development. It has been an absolute honor to lead the project that will engage new audiences with this beloved riverfront district that makes us uniquely ‘Cincy.’”
Earlier this year, organizer released the Freedom Journey web app, a powerful storytelling platform that connects users to the stories of courage and resistance that defined America’s path to freedom along the Ohio River.
Developed in collaboration with the Cincinnati Museum Center and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, the free GPS-based app highlights more than 160 historic sites and figures across Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia, tracing the journeys of Freedom Seekers and conductors on the Underground Railroad
“The Freedom Journey app brings history to life,” said Woody Keown, President & CEO of the Freedom Center. “It allows users to walk in the footsteps of heroes and experience the impact of the Underground Railroad in a new way.”
Users can explore immersive content featuring notable figures like Levi Coffin, Sarah Fossett, and John Rankin, and visit historic sites including Cincinnati’s Harriet Beecher Stowe House and Ripley’s Rankin House.
Each app is available for download on Apple and Google devices.