Hey packrafters, the 6th annual Six Mile Creek Whitewater & Bluegrass Festival is this friday and saturday, august 9th and 10th, 2013!!! Come on down! It’s completely free! And make sure to race, haha! Hell, there’s a kayak, packraft, and pool toy race, so everyone is welcome. Here is the link to the info below: the main festival grounds are in a new spot this year, mile 9.6 of Hope road.
http://www.timmystoyota.blogspot.com/2013/06/six-mile-creek-whitewater-bluegrass.html
UPDATED SCHEDULE BELOW!!! There will be micro-brewed beer for volunteers, racers, and bands, food from AJ’s Bar-be-que Friday & Saturday, a raffle for some sweet prizes, and some fire-spinning once the sun goes down on Saturday night!
All events, beer, music, & raffle are free, BUT I need to pay the bands, so please plan on donating $20 or more (which helps cover all costs). Please make a donation to the donation box near the beer garden and main stage. This will help pay the bands, set-up costs, and keep the festival COMPLETELY FREE for years to come!!! And hey, where else can you get free festival entry, free boot stompin’ live music, free beer, free camping, a free raffle ticket to some killer prizes, and free competition entry for $20 anyways?
DIRECTIONS: Drive 1 hour south of Anchorage on the Seward Highway until your reach the Hope road cut-off. Look for festival signs between mile markers 9 & 10 of Hope Road and turn right into the main festival area. Free camping on site!
Schedule:
PARKING: You can park on the shoulder of the road, but DO NOT park over the white lines or you will be towed. Only kayak racers, band members, and shuttle driving volunteers are allowed to park on the main festival grounds. All other festival goers can either park off the shoulder of the road (you will probably need a truck to do so) OR take the shuttle bus provided, which will be leaving every hour between the main festival grounds & the Hope area. Prepare to arrive early to insure you have a seat on the shuttle bus and to avoid missing music or other events.
- there will be a pull-through “drop off” area at the main festival grounds to drop off your friends, camping gear, etc before shuttling your vehicle to the Hope area. Please car pool if possible. Thanks!
Schedule:
FRIDAY, AUGUST 9th, 2013 at the main festival grounds:
8:00ish pm - Anonymous Inc
10:30 pm - The Dirty Hands
SATURDAY, AUGUST 10th, 2013 at the main festival grounds:
11:00 am : competitor sign-up down at the main festival grounds tent/main stage area, racing bib hand-out
12:30 pm: racers and spectators leave main festival grounds at Boston Bar area and drive back north to the 1st canyon extreme race series site (about 1 mile north of the Seward Highway bridge over Canyon Creek, just before the Hope cut-off road… look for lots of parked cars off the side of the highway at 1:00pm.
1:00 pm : downriver mass-start extreme race through the 3 biggest rapids of the 1st canyon (KAYAK, canoe, inflatable kayak)
1:30 pm: PACK RAFT mass-start extreme race through the 3 biggest rapids of the 1st canyon (pack rafts only)
2:00 pm: INFLATABLE POOL-TOY extreme mass-start race (inflatable pool-toy race…ride an alligator, shark, couch, whatever you want!.. (normal whitewater gear is required (aka: drysuit, life jacket, helmet))… pack rafts don’t count as an inflatable pool-toy:^
2:30 pm: Backwards race! (ALL river craft!) You go forwards, you’re disqualified!
4:00 pm: everyone drives back to main festival area, awards ceremony, bonfire party, micro-brewed beer, AJ’s bar-be-que, FREE RAFFLE, & live music begins.
5:00 pm- Overby Family Band
6:30 pm - Big Fat Buddha
9:00 pm - The Gutter Sheiks
11:00 pm - Corrine Rose & Boot
*** Fire spinning ***
Here’s a write-up from a few years back:
http://girdwoodsummer.wordpress.com/2011/08/26/six-mile-whitewater-festi…
and a quick racing video:
DIRECTIONS to the racing area: *Competitors & spectators will leave the main festival grounds & drive up the road to the 1st canyon race area just off the Seward Highway about 1 mile north of the Canyon Creek bridge overpass at 1:00p.m. sharp. * There are plenty of free camping spots along the Hope Road if the camping/parking is full at the main festival grounds.
- Please pack in and pack out your own trash. If you have time to help clean up the festival grounds on Sunday, your help will not go unnoticed!
Sponsors:
- Cook Inlet Keepers
- Mooses Tooth Brewing Company
- World Kayak
- Susitna Sled & Kayak
- Alaska Raft & Kayak
- Chugach Outdoor Center
- NOVA
- American Whitewater
- Alaska Mountaineering and Hiking
- Bills Distributing
- Knik Canoe & Kayak Club
- Great Harvest Bread Company
******* Any questions please email or if you want to volunteer help please Timmy @ kayaker35@hotmail.com *******
**** I need volunteers to help watch over the beer garden (just 30 minutes of your time, then trade with the next person), free beer included! Also needed are kayak race time/score keepers.****