Gauley Fest Goes Large

If this year's Gauley River Festival in Summersville, W.V., was any indication, whitewater and Woodstock have more in common than previously thought. Although it only headlined one band (The Barefeet and Co.), last fall's 13th annual festival--representing the largest concentration of whitewater boaters in the country excluding the Olympics--saw more than 4,500 people converge on a vacant field in Nicholas County for a weekend of boating and debauchery unparalleled in paddlesports. "This one was definitely the biggest one yet," says Phyllis Horowitz, who organized the event as a conservation fund-raiser for American Whitewater. "It was pretty much a whirlwind weekend." Attendee Skip Brown, who drove down from Washington, D.C., goes one step farther, calling it "by far the largest gathering of boaters in one spot that I've ever seen."

Horowitz attributes the festival's success to two things. One was the weather. "I think the attendance was due in part to Mother Nature cooperating," she says. "This was the best weather we've had for it yet." She also notes that the Army Corps of Engineers didn't announce additional Gauley water release information until the following Tuesday, causing many paddlers to think it was their last chance to paddle the river for the year.

As happens when any sizeable group of boaters gets together, there did develop a need for some control. But even though some attendees complained of roadblock checkpoints and liberal car-towing practices, local law enforcement officials were happy with the boaters' behavior. "There were a lot of people there this year," says Nicholas County Deputy Sheriff Bob Hennessey. "And naturally the parking got pretty limited so we had to tow a few. But I've worked this festival every year and we couldn't ask for anything better--these are the friendliest people you could have to stage such an event. It wouldn't bother me if they held it 52 weeks a year."

It wouldn't bother American Whitewater either. With fees from attendees and more than 70 exhibitors, this year's event raised a record $55,000 for the organization's conservation efforts. And as well as raising record funds for a worthwhile cause, it had one other thing going for it that its counterpart in the '60s didn't. "This year was a boater's Woodstock without the mud," says Horowitz.

--This year's Gauley Fest will be held Sept. 25-26, 1999. For more information, contact American Whitewater at (704) 645-5299.