Gourmet Food & Memorable Music on the Rogue River
Join us for the Serenade trip of a lifetime! Raft the Rogue River by day, and gather for music and feasts around the fire at night. There is no better way to Serenade your senses than on this four-day adventure.
Building community through collaboration is what Serenade does best! For this trip we’ve teamed up with Northwest Rafting Company to feature Chef Jaret Foster and Joe Rodriguez of Portland’s Tournant. These two talented chefs will be creating communal feasts using live-fire techniques in a wilderness setting. The featured musicians will be solo artists Jenner Fox and Austin Quattlebaum.
Enjoy four days of rafting the wild section of the Rogue River. Choose to paddle your own inflatable kayak, be part of a paddle boat team, or relax on a raft as a guide rows you down the river. Floating musical serenades happen often through canyons and on calm stretches. Lunches are prepared riverside by guides as we explore side creeks, waterfalls, jumping rock and scenic hikes. Once in camp, take the time to relax with a cold drink, hike the river trail, read that book you’ve been putting off, or chat with your new friends. Come evening, we gather for the Serenade happy hour complete with appetizers, beverages, and live music. This is followed by a communal feast prepared over live-fire by Jaret and Joe. Finally, dessert is paired with more music played by firelight. Fall asleep beneath the stars, or cozied up in a tent and wake up excited to do it all over again.
Trip Highlights
Four days of rafting the Rogue River.
Live sets of music daily, plus floating serenades.
Three nights of three-course meals, prepared by the chefs of Tournant over live-fire and paired with local Oregon beverages.
Side hikes through lush green lined creeks, on the Rogue River trail, and jumping rocks.
Opportunities to see Bald Eagles, Osprey, bears, and lots more wildlife.
Northwest Rafting Company runs award-winning global trips and multi-day rafting trips on select National Wild and Scenic Rivers. They are exclusively focused on offering the best whitewater rafting trips in the West. Guests build and strengthen their connections with nature, with their fellow travelers, and most especially with themselves.
Gourmet Food
Serenade offers adventurous food and music lovers a memorable fusion of mouth-watering dishes and live tunes in a communal atmosphere of greasy chins, rosy cheeks, and new friends. Serenade founders, Austin and Kaela both have backgrounds on rivers and it was only a matter of time before they brought Serenade to a river. This trip is a culmination of everything they love and represent through Serenade; food, music, and community.
Tournant is a boutique catering company and culinary event space in Portland, Oregon, operated by Jaret Foster and Mona Johnson. Their approach to food reflects a sense of place and ceremony, drawing inspiration from the seasons and local bounty from the land and sea. Known for their emphasis on live-fire cooking and hands-on communal feasts Jaret and Mona love to turn a meal into an experience. On the Rogue, Jaret will be joined by his sous chef Joe Rodriguez.
Memorable Music
This trip wouldn’t be a Serenade without music, so we are featuring two musical guests; Jenner Fox and Austin Quattlebaum. Both tour the country as accomplished solo artists who, in addition to solo sets, will join forces for rowdier collaborations.
Jenner is a singer and songwriter on the river and the road. His musical delivery ranges from a soft mandolin melody to full blown passion at its peak, with words that will make you laugh and cry, and songs you'll want to take home. Jenner spends part of his time writing, touring, and recording, and the other part playing his music while working as a river guide in the US, Canada, and Chilean Patagonia.
Austin Quattlebaum attempts to bring more than just music. With his infectious smile and weird antics, he brings people together; encouraging comradeship and building community. Though it's undeniable that he loves the music and he’s a hell of a banjo picker to boot. Austin has been performing solo all over the country since 2009. His childhood home of Savannah, GA shines through in the swampy tones and sleepy Southern lilt of his banjo and melodies. Austin’s sound is tinged with southern low country marshland blues. His solo performances blend gritty originals and tasteful covers, weaving 3 finger banjo, clawhammer, and flat picking guitar songs into his set seamlessly. Sung with a bit of gravel in his throat, his tunes are sure to get the crowd’s attention.