Looking for a good Free Sport way to ring in the Memorial Day Weekend (aside from watching Game 7 of the Celtics-Sixers series, of course)? Head on over to our country’s first National Blueway, the Connecticut River, right here in our very own Pioneer Valley.

That’s right. The Connecticut River, which certainly does not enjoy the reputation of a pristine ecological waterway, just gained eminent Green status by being designated a Blueway. (Sort of like the classic Miles Davis tune “Blue In Green.” Or maybe not at all.)

“The designation, which is part of President Barack Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors Rivers Initiative,” reports The Republican, “[aims] to get more people outdoors and using resources such as the Connecticut.”

“Although it was polluted so badly it was barely usable a generation ago,” The Republican continues, “the Connecticut is thriving today in Massachusetts, thanks to the efforts of agencies like the Connecticut River Watershed Council and local communities, which have spent millions of dollars to clean it up.”

Paddle on Free Sporters, paddle on!