The three-day weekend marks NOC’s dedication to bringing a center wide festival that incorporates all the NOC represents to its fun-loving guests and friends. This year GAF will mark one of the last weekends of river flow for the 2009 season, and NOC is celebrating with a lot of gear, music and events for everyone.
“It should be a great weekend,” says NOC’s Matt Urdan, who’s also been instrumental in organizaing the induction ceremonies for the International Whitewater Hall of Fame. “There’s certainly a lot going on.”
The weekend kicks off on Friday with NOC’s Used Gear Sale, Gear Marketplace, Special Deals in the Outfitter’s Store, and Rafting and Paddling all weekend. The festival will showcase many national and local non-profit organizations, with free clinics that anyone can participate in all weekend long. It’ll also have a climbing wall slide, paddling video premieres, fishing programs, water-cannon battles, a bouncy house, foamy kayak building and throw bag clinics, a big American Whitewater raffle and much more. As always, there is a Costume Contest for adults on Friday night during the HumBuckers show and one for kids at 3:30pm on Saturday.
On Saturday the event schedule picks up with paddling events hosted by our top boat manufacturers. The events include; Shred Ready/Immersion Research Pumpkin Pursuit, Dagger Old School Rodeo, Liquid Logic Giant Slalom Race, Jackson Kayak’s Big Trick Competition, Pyranha’s Head-to-Head Speeder Challenge & Georgia Canoe Association’s Southeastern Downriver Championships. All boaters are encouraged to help the environment and bring old boats to be recycled with LiquidLogic’s Boat Recycling program.
Live entertainment and music will be going all weekend long by The Steve Wohlrab Jazz Trio, The Bluegrass Lumber Company, Sam Ravenna, Drew Fowler, The HumBuckers and WNC’s own Woody Pines. Throughout the weekend we also have Video Premiers from Lunch Video Magazine (LVM), Effort.TV, as well as the premier of NOC’s Shootout Video, and the 2009 International Whitewater Hall of Fame Video.
NOC is also proud to host the International Whitewater Hall of Fame (IWHOF) Induction Ceremony all weekend. IWHOF’s induction ceremony for the class of 2009 will take place Saturday, September 26, at Relia’s Garden. IWHOF is the Cooperstown of whitewater, and NOC should get a big round of applause for its efforts to host this international event. Saturday is also filled with meet-and-greet events open to the public, including lunch at Slow Joes, preceeded by a morning raft trip commemorating the Nantahala 90 Raft Rally for Peace.
For more information about GAF
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About Nantahala Outdoor Center
Nantahala Outdoor Center is the nation’s largest outdoor recreation company. Over a half million guests visit NOC annually to embark on a diverse collection of over 80 different whitewater rafting and land-based itineraries, learn to kayak at NOC’s world-renowned Paddling School, travel to 12 foreign countries with NOC’s Adventure Travel program. A privately-held, employee-owned company, NOC is one of the largest employers in Western North Carolina, and 22 Olympians and Olympic coaches have called NOC home.
http://www.noc.com