City Place will host its inaugural School of Fly on Saturday, Sept. 12, giving Spring-area residents a free chance to learn fly casting and fly tying at the development's 150-acre Nature Preserve.

The event pairs City Place with outdoor retailer Orvis. Instructors from the Orvis store in The Woodlands will lead one-hour fly-casting clinics and fly-tying workshops throughout the day, with all equipment provided at no charge.

All gear is provided.

"Through our partnership with Orvis, we're able to introduce guests to a new skill in a setting that's unlike anywhere else in the Houston region," Andrew Giammalva, vice president of Coventry Development Corporation of Houston, the developer behind City Place, said in a statement announcing the event.

The clinics are open to beginners and experienced anglers alike, but advance registration is required due to limited capacity. Participants in each clinic will have chances to win premium Orvis fly-fishing gear. Visitors who skip the formal clinics can still drop in to watch demonstrations, meet Orvis instructors and enjoy nature-themed children's activities without registering.

Check-in takes place at City Place Plaza, 1250 Lake Plaza Drive. The Nature Preserve itself is at 24000 Holzwarth Road. Registration details are available at cityplacenow.com.

The setting

The Nature Preserve connects directly to the Spring Creek Greenway, which protects roughly 7,000 acres of forest and offers more than 19 miles of trails for hiking, biking and wildlife observation. City Place spans 2,000 acres at the intersection of the Grand Parkway, Hardy Toll Road and Interstate 45, according to Hello Woodlands.

The development's daytime workforce tops 20,000 people across campuses for Hewlett Packard Enterprise, ExxonMobil, HP Inc. and others. School of Fly joins a growing calendar of community programming at City Place that already includes concerts, outdoor fitness classes and seasonal festivals.

Guests looking to extend the trip can book the Houston City Place Marriott at a discounted weekend rate using code 11P, and the Courtyard Houston City Place is offering a fly-fishing package for the occasion.

The Orvis store at Market Street in The Woodlands regularly offers free Fly Fishing 101 classes year-round for those who want to continue learning after the Sept. 12 event.