Alexander County, NC – Alexander County’s big event of the year is coming soon! Mark your calendars for RockyFest 2018, set for Saturday, April 21 at Rocky Face Mountain Recreational Area in Hiddenite. This 6th annual family-friendly event features trail races, live music, free rock climbing and rappelling sessions, children’s activities, food, arts/crafts vendors, and much more.

The event begins with the RockyFest Trail Races at 8:00 a.m. with distances of 4.5, 9, or 13.5 miles. The races will begin at the new Rocky Face Visitor Center. Registration for either race is $25, if you sign up by April 8. T-shirts are not included in the registration fee, so please include $10 more if you want a race t-shirt (no guarantee after April 8). Online registration is available, or you can download an application, course map, and complete details at www.rockyfacepark.com/rockyfest.

Following the trail races, free rock climbing and rappelling sessions will be offered from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. with 75 openings available. Registration will be completed online at www.rockyfacepark.com/rockyfest on a first-come, first-served basis.

The rest of the festivities begin at 10:00 a.m. and last until 4:00 p.m. Activities will include live music, inflatables for the children, arts and crafts vendors, a wide variety of food, and much more.

Six regional bands are scheduled to perform a variety of bluegrass and old-time music, with the Alexander Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM) playing at 9:20. The music schedule is: Gap Civil at 10:00, Spencer Branch at 11:00, Cane Mill Road at 12:00, Crooked Road Ramblers at 1:00, New Ballards Branch Bogtrotters at 2:00, and Five Mile Mountain Road at 3:00. There will also be a picking tent, so bring your instrument and join in the fun.

Applications are currently being accepted for food, arts/crafts, commercial, and non-profit organizations. Visit www.rockyfacepark.com/rockyfest, click on “Vendor Application,” and complete the online form. Food vendors are $80, commercial $40, arts/crafts $30, and non-profits are free (limit of 10 non-profit vendors on a first-come, first-served basis). Electricity is an additional $10 fee

If your business would like to be a sponsor of RockyFest 2018, sponsorship opportunities are available. Current sponsors include: Duke Energy, Alexander Railroad Company, Huntington House Furniture, EnergyUnited, Schneider Mills, Craftmaster Furniture, McGill Associates, and West Consultants.

For more information about the RockyFest 2018 event, contact Alisha Stamey at [email protected] or (828) 632-1308, or visit www.rockyfacepark.com/rockyfest.