The 8th Annual French Broad River Festival, a benefit for American Whitewater and Big Brothers/Big Sisters of WNC, will take place on May 6-8, 2005 in beautiful Hot Springs, North Carolina, just 45 minutes north of Asheville, at the Hot Springs Campground and Spa. Come spend Mother’s Day weekend with family and friends listening to the sounds of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Big City Sunrise, Backyard Tire Fire, Menage, and many other regional favorites. Or you can go shopping for new outdoor gear at the Silent Auction or with one of our many vendors. Also, you should definitely plan on watching or participating in the 3rd Annual Kayak Rolling Rodeo, the 1st Annual FBRF Bicycle Race at Mill Ridge Bike Trail, or the 8th Annual French Broad River Raft Race.
The French Broad River Festival could not take place without the generous contributions from our many sponsors. This year’s sponsors include Watershed Waterproof Drybags and Luggage, Liberty Bicycles, Astral Buoyancy, Teva Sandals, ENO Hammocks, Cheney Graphics, Pyranha Kayaks, Aire, BioWheels, Smith Optics, Seventy Two DPI, the Verdi Group, Greenlife Grocery, Highland Brewing Company, Thrown Out Throwbags, Northwest River Supplies, Bluff Mountain Outfitters, Huck Finn Adventures, Tifosi Sunglasses, Sunburst Realty, and Terrapin Brewing . Many of these sponsors will have vending booths at the festival for demonstrations and selling their products. Come out and show your support of these great local companies. Check out some of the awesome products these folks have to offer!
Admission to the festival is $50. This includes primitive camping, music, registration fees for whitewater events (if you have your own boat), one raffle ticket, and good times.
If you don’t have your own boat, but would like to be in the raft race, a limited number of tickets are available for $75. These include a spot in a raft for the raft race with a guide plus everything the $50 ticket offers. These are available through www.ticketweb.com or www.frenchbroadriverfestival.com .
