Check Out What's Happening: GAF 2013

Every year, NOC celebrates another great season of outdoor recreation by offering unbeatable deals on gear and apparel and by providing a weekend full of free, fun outdoor lifestyle events. This is our famous Guest Appreciation Festival, or simply "GAF."

Here are the top 6 things to look forward to during GAF weekend, September 27-29, at NOC:

1. Family-Friendly Activities - With a variety of kid's activities, GAF is a perfect time to bring the family to NOC for a beautiful fall weekend! This year we will have a bounce house, face painting, button making, coloring, games and much more for the whole family to enjoy.  Last year, the kids activities were on the tennis courts, but this year they will be closer to the festival, making it easier for parents to play too!
2. Snakes, Stories and Survival - Join Steve Longenecker for a hands-on lesson about snakes living in our region and around the world, Tim Hall for exciting, humorous mountain-themed stories and Appalachian folktales or sit in for a lesson on how to survive in the wilderness, courtesy of NOC's Survival School.
3. Discount on NOC Activities - As a thank you for your support and loyalty to NOC, we invite you to go whitewater rafting down the Nantahala River, take a ride on the Mountaintop Zip Line Tour or challenge yourself in the Zip Line Adventure Park for 15% off! Reserve your trip for GAF weekend, September 27-29, and use code "GAF15" to redeem this special discount.
4. Upper Nantahala and Cascade Releases - If you are a class IV-V kayaker, this weekend is perfect for you! The Upper Nantahala and Cascades Section of the Nantahala River will be running on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 5 pm.  We are offering free shuttles for this release in partnership with Endless River Adventures.  Sign up here to give us an idea of how many people to expect for the shuttles!
5. Of Course, the Gear Sales - Get your outdoor gear from NOC's Used Gear Sale or the Guest Gear Marketplace at some of the lowest prices you will find.  From paddling and rafting gear to clothing and accessories, these marketplaces will have something for everyone! To sign up for a booth to sell your own gear, click here.
6. U.S. Slalom National Championships - Watch the nation's best racers carve up the exciting Nantahala Falls course on Saturday and Sunday morning. The winners will be crowned the national champions for 2013, so the competition will be fierce. Find out more from the Nantahala Racing Club. 

Soar above the tree tops on the Mountaintop Zip Line Tour

Thanks for another great season! We look forward to seeing you at GAF.

For more information and a full schedule for GAF 2013, click here.

Announcing NOC's 2013 Canoe Club Challenge Series

June kicks off the first of the three-part Canoe Club Challange series at NOC! For those of you new to the event, you just need to come out and see it (i.e. be a part of it) for yourselves. Featuring both a downriver and a slalom race, the event is designed to give paddlers of all skill levels a chance to get on the water and take part in some good natured, low-key competition. Talk smack with your friends, cool off on the river, and challenge yourself to a personal best time in the downriver or a clean run on the slalom course. Following the event, enjoy time with friends at Big Wesser BBQ + Brew, catch some live music, and hang out for your chance to win great prizes courtesy of NOC and Dagger.

For those of you who are Canoe Club Challenge veterans, there are a couple of changes to this year's event format that are worth noting:

• Thank you to Dagger for once again sponsoring NOC's Canoe Club Challenge. Following the Canoe Club Challenge Championships in August, we will hold a drawing for the Grand Prize, a new 2013 Dagger kayak (model is the winner's choice).
• $5 race registration includes: downriver race, slalom race and Series t-shirt (each competitor only gets one shirt, even if they come to multiple events). Competitors who come to both June and July races will receive FREE entry to the August event.
• Bring your kids! We're trying to make competition special for our smaller paddlers, and will have awards to recognize all our paddling kids aged 16 and under.

We thank you for understanding that your event entry fee goes directly towards the purchase of prizes and t-shirts. We still won't break even on the event, but the entry fee will help to recoup some of our costs.

 

Slalom Race Format Changes:

• Once the race starts, the course will be closed to practice runs.
• Competitors get two race runs in each class, and can compete in a maximum of three classes.
• Each completed run earns the paddler one raffle ticket.
• Each completed CLEAN run earns the paddler two raffle tickets. (A clean run means making it through each of the gates in the designated order without touching any poles.)
• As always following each event, we will hold a raffle for prizes. Individuals win prizes when their name is picked at the Canoe Club Challenge drawing.

Downriver Race Format Changes:

• This year, each Canoe Club Challenge Downriver Race will be a different length. 
• June: Sprint race from above Nantahala Falls to NOC Founder's Bridge.
• July: Classic race from Ferebee to NOC Founder's Bridge.
• August: Marathon race from Wayah USFS Put-in to NOC Founder's Bridge (GCA Southeastern Whitewater Championships)

Please visit the event page for more information and a full event schedule. We look forward to seeing you out on the water!

GAF Parking and Camping Information

A lot of folks will be joining us at GAF on September 28th – 30th, and we want to make sure that logistical confusion and parking don't mar anyone’s good time. Below, I’ve outlined our parking plan for GAF 2012. Read up before you come so you can all spend less time worrying about your car, and more time enjoying the festival.

GAF 2012 will feature the first ever recreational releases on the
Class IV/V Cascades section of the Nantahala.

Parking

We plan to use our existing on-campus parking most of Friday and Sunday. When you arrive at NOC, drive across the bridge and let our friendly parking staff direct you to an open spot. Please take their advice, and park efficiently so everyone can park on-property.

Saturday morning and early afternoon are the peak parking times at GAF. If on-property parking is full or if you just want to go ahead and get settled, turn up Silvermine Road, across the street from the Outfitter's Store.  NOC staff will be stationed at the mouth of Silvermine Rd. (near the Wesser General Store & Fly Shop) with maps and directions to approved lots. Please don't park alongside Silvermine road. We've seen too many festival attendees get tickets on this road over the years, even though it looks like there are pullouts.

The first satellite lot is located approximately ¾ of a mile up Silvermine Rd (within walking distance for many people). It is a fenced grass lot on the right hand side, and will be clearly marked with a special event parking sign. There will be an attendant on hand to help you park efficiently.

As this lot fills up, cars will be directed further along Silvermine Rd. to the second satellite lot 2.2 miles up the road. You will want to be sure you stay on the main paved road as you drive up Silvermine until you see the second marked lot. It usually only takes about five minutes to drive to this lot, so don't worry about the distance. The lot is nicely graveled, and because we are only running shuttles in one direction we can service the lots very frequently. No one should have to wait more than 10 minutes to get a ride.

In the unlikely case that we fill up both of our Silvermine parking locations, we will open an additional lot at the Ruby Mine near Bud Dill’s gas station, just east of NOC on Hwy. 19/74. Please don’t park in this lot unless directed to do so by NOC staff, because we’ll only be running shuttles in this direction once we fill the other lots.

Finally, NOC is offering free shuttles to the Wayah Forest Service Put-In for those who choose to leave their cars off property while they are on the river. We usually do this as a thank you to guests helping us avoid a parking crunch during Saturday at GAF. In other words, if you paddle into GAF we'd be glad to drive you back to your car when you're finished. (Just make sure you catch the last rafting bus headed to the put in around 3:30. It should be very easier to thumb a ride to the top with another boater this weekend anyway.)

Please note that all GAF remote lots close at 7pm. We’d love for you to stay to enjoy the free live music and dancing, so please make your way up to the lots as the afternoon wears on to move your cars back down to the center. It’ll make life easier for you when it’s time to go home.


Camping

As in years past, we are unfortunately unable to accommodate camping on campus or in remote lots during GAF. There are simply so many people rafting, dancing, shopping and playing that it's impossible to accommodate everyone.  Check out our lodging page for great tips on camping and lodging close by.

We will have off-duty law enforcement on campus throughout the event to make sure that everyone has a good, safe time. They’ll also be helping us with our no-camping policy, so it's important to make sleeping plans ahead of time. Please note that some registered vendors and event staff will be spending the night on campus to keep an eye on everything; they have been accounted for in the event plan and are exceptions to the no camping standard.

So, that's the deal. Guests who know the parking plan and who make appropriate sleeping plans will find this year's event really fun and really easy. We appreciate the preparation, and we can't wait to see you at GAF!