Press release from the Mountain Sports Festival:
Asheville, NC – In late 1999 and into 2000 Stuart Cowles and a group of really engaged community supporters in the local outdoor industry set out to create an event where athletes, novice participants, sales reps, not-for-profit organizations, and retailers could all get together and share their knowledge of their chosen sport or product. The idea was to engage our community around the amazing outdoor offerings and activities that are found in our region and support a common culture of participation with the benefit of growth for all. With the common understanding that “All ships rise with rising tides” … they created the Mountain Sports Festival where everyone worked together to promote these core values.
For 18 years, the Mountain Sports Festival, a staple of the Memorial Day weekend in Asheville, has done just that, bringing our community together with a common thread … the love of outdoor activities and the engagement of our fellow community members. This past year, the festival came full circle and truly had a greater outreach to ALL of our community, when we added a charitable arm that resulted in the donation of $5000 to Streets to Peaks – a Maybin Mission program powered by Camp Grier. This program provides enriching outdoor experiences to youth with limited access to wilderness adventures.
For the most part, the 2018 festival was successful. We maxed out the number of vendors at Carrier Park. Our new running events were well-attended, and our new festival coordinator was instrumental in easing the strain on the Mountain Sports Festival board, which is made up of dedicated community volunteers.
Unfortunately, because of poor weather and flooding bracketing 2018’s Memorial weekend, attendance and wristband sales were down significantly over the three days, and several events, including the ever crowd-pleasing AVLRX Cyclocross race, were cancelled. We had some safety nets in place to help mitigate the loss in revenue; however, the amount of extra work and energy needed to have a successful 2018 festival pushed the volunteer board beyond a reasonable limit.
As such, the board voted to dissolve the non-profit and will no longer produce the festival. 2018 was our last year. We certainly appreciate the support of the community, our vendors, event producers, event participants, musical acts, and sponsors over the years, such as Prestige Subaru, Blue Ridge Outdoors, Diamond Brand Outdoors, Sierra Nevada Brewing, Pisgah Brewing, Hi-Wire Brewing, and New Belgium Brewing.
Please keep an eye out for many of the independently run sporting events that have been part of the MSF, such as the Mountain Disc Golf Experience, Downriver Dash SUP race, Collier Lilly Ride for NCOBS, and the Asheville Ultimate Youth Tournament, as they will still happen without us. Please support them!
Lastly, we encourage all of Asheville to use the 2019 Memorial Weekend to get outside with friends and family and experience the mountains of Western North Carolina. Get on that mountain bike, road bike, cyclocross bike, stand up paddleboard, kayak, canoe, or Bellyak. Lace up those running shoes, trail shoes, climbing shoes, or hiking shoes. Load up the car with your camping gear and furry friends, strap the kids into their car seats, and make some memories in the mountains. That is what we will be doing!
Additional Links:
https://www.facebook.com/mountainsportsfestival/
https://www.campgrier.org/streets-to-peaks
http://www.maybinmission.com/
Hi-res MSF logo: https://drive.google.com/open?id=14yc6D-OgDmp0lIXynR2XPej9BRSzr-id
Folder of MSF Marketing Photos: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Ddhick0lnojsYX5gFPUEzz_9SLKObOiP
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.