OutdoorFest 2018: 1,538 people, 10 days, 5 boroughs
OutdoorFest V officially wrapped last Sunday, and what a fest it was!
1,538 New Yorkers joined in for 37 unique events curated in conjunction with 33 partners in all 5 boroughs of New York City!
With key support by presenting and supporting sponsors:
As always, we launched the festival in the Greenest Borough - Staten Island - and enjoyed a guided hike on the Greenbelt, fly casting and tintype photography with Filson, a ton of trail running (more on that below), yoga, workshops and a truly amazing performance by the Brooklyn Boogaloo Blowout.
From there, we went to beaches, rooftops, rivers, parks and even concrete sidewalks to find and explore the outdoor spaces of NYC (photos here). Activities included everything from restoring oysters with the Hudson River Park to kayaking with the Red Hook Boaters. We also surfed, mountain biked, hiked, yoga-ed, bouldered and so much more.
Angelica Olstad of Pop Up Yoga NYC leads beach yoga. Photo by Hanna Sender
This year, we returned to the classics like our annual SUP class with Manhattan Kayak and fitness with The Rise and the Movement Creative. Yet, we also took things up a notch, most notably with a Canoe Tour on the Gowanus Canal (it was superFUNd!) and a 6-hour ultra with Salomon Running.
Eward Greene running the 6-hour Salomon Ultra. Photo by Jeffrey Restrepo
We also took things indoors (GASP!) because learning skills and sharing our stories are just as important to long term outdoor recreation as directly adventuring. At Columbia Sportswear in the Meatpacking District we worked with Destination Backcountry to host four days of workshops on everything from what to eat in the backcountry to how to stay calm in a survival situation. At Best Made, we celebrated *five* years of Mappy Hour with incredible adventure stories and photos from Soijen and Joel Caldwell.
Dave Dicerbo teaches backcountry cooking at the Columbia Sportswear Outdoor Series
Though the promised rain eventually made it to the fest on the last day, 45 people participated in "VolunteerFest", a day service including advocacy with Surfrider Foundation NYC and invasive plant removal with the CatRock Academy.
A huge thank you to everyone who participated, every partner who hosted an amazing event and our awesome sponsors and volunteers. This wouldn't happen without YOU!
Until next year...
Header photo by Stephen Elliot