Planning for the second virtual Cheat River Festival is underway, and Friends of the Cheat is working to make this year’s event even better.
“People get their batteries charged for the summer through Cheat Fest,” said Beth Warnick, Friends of the Cheat media and outreach specialist. “You can’t recapture that, so we really want to try and capture a little bit of that Cheat Fest magic in these events throughout May.”
Last year’s event was full of virtual activities spread throughout a week. Warnick said one of the biggest changes being made this year is activities will be throughout May. Details on activities are still in the planning phase, but organizers also hope to bring back some in-person activities.
“Of course, we are coming at this with an eye on COVID safety and social distancing and limited numbers,” Warnick said. “We’re still really in the planning stage of where we are going to be as a community in May.”
One of the main events Warnick said Friends of the Cheat plans to hold in-person this year is the Cheat River Massacre-ence. This event is a down-river race through the Cheat Canyon, and is set to be held May 1 to kick off the festival.
“I think everyone is totally stoked that we even have an option to do that,” said Lisa Maraffa, coordinator for the Cheat Festival’s silent auction. “It’s the first inkling of people being able to get back together.”
Similar to last year, several events will still be held virtually. This includes the 5K race, in which participants will be able to complete individually from home and submit their times online. The online silent auction and live-streamed music will also be available during the event.
Warnick said when the event was first moved online last year, organizers had to quickly learn everything they could about hosting a virtual event.
“We learned a lot, and our lead volunteers really pulled through,” Warnick said. “People really changed mode and came together, and for what it was, it was a really successful event.”
Now, with more time to plan and the knowledge they gained from hosting last year’s event, the organization plans to continue making improvements.
The virtual format makes it difficult for the organization to sell tickets, so the festival has become more centered around outreach and education rather than fundraising. Maraffa said because of this, the organization relies heavily on donations and the silent auction for fundraising.
The organization is currently working to collect donations for the silent auction. Donations can include anything from art, ventures, services, or miscellaneous items. Inquiries about donations can be directed to silentauction@cheat.org.
Further details and registration information for the event will be available in the coming weeks. Those interested can check for updates on the Cheat Fest website at www.cheatfest.org. To keep up-to-date, sign-ups for the organizations mailing list is also available on the site.
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