Appalachian Trailfest in Hot Springs canceled, 2nd-largest AT festival in US
HOT SPRINGS - Hot Springs' Appalachian Trailfest is the second largest Appalachian Trail-themed festival in the country and is typically seen as a teaser for thru-hikers heading to Appalachian Trail Days, a larger, more well-known festival in Damascus, Virginia.
But the Hot Springs festival won't be happening in 2024, the Hot Springs Tourism and Welcome Center announced.
While the festival, which was scheduled for April 12-14, is canceled this year, the town said it plans to bring the festival back in 2025, the Hot Springs Tourism and Welcome Center said in a Facebook post.
"This event is in transition, with plans to continue in 2025, in partnership with the Laughing Heart Hostel and Hot Springs community," Hot Springs Tourism and Welcome Center said in the post.
In lieu of the three-day festival, there will still be the traditional duck race, which is planned for the late afternoon on April 27. The duck race will be organized by Hot Springs Volunteer Fire Department, and proceeds will go to the department and to the 2025 Appalachian Trailfest, according to the Hot Springs Tourism and Welcome Center.
Additionally, according to the post, Laughing Heart Hostel will host a free dinner and fashion show after the duck race April 27.
Appalachian Trailfest was founded in 1987 and has been an annual fixture in Hot Springs since then.
In the past, proceeds from the multiday festival have gone to benefit a trip for the residents of Madison County Group Home, the town's lone medical residence for adults with complex needs, according to Ike Lassiter, TrailFest's planning committee coordinator.
But the Madison County Group Home decided against organizing the event in 2024, according to Hot Springs resident Sonya Smith Phillips.
"The Madison County Group Home decided to let it go, and I was hoping to keep it going along with the Laughing Heart Hostel," Smith Phillips said in a message to The News-Record & Sentinel.
"However, there have been some circumstances that are going to make that impossible for 2024. There were many obstacles for this year, that I would prefer not be made public. I hope that we will be able to bring it back next year."
Lassiter, who serves on the Madison County Group Home's board, said the Group Home made the decision to part ways with the festival in the fall.
Lassiter said the festival was once the second-most attended Appalachian Trail festival in the country, and the festival was typically planned to precede the larger Appalachian Trail Days festival.
But last year, the first festival post-COVID, attendance among thru-hikers was down, Lassiter said.
Hot Springs resident Elmer Hall has worked on the TrailFest committee since the festival's inception in the 1980s.
More: Trailfest back in 2023 'Everybody in town comes out': Appalachian TrailFest back in Hot Springs after COVID
More: About Madison County Group Home Hot Springs group home residents share tight-knit bond with community
According to Hall, the festival started as a way to celebrate spring, and also as a way to provide an opportunity for people to get out and be involved in outdoor activities, such as hiking.
But the festival's foundation was also meant to celebrate Hot Springs' connection to The Appalachian Trail, Hall said.
"It also was (started) to recognize that we are the only town in North Carolina to have the Appalachian Trail running through Main Street. We are North Carolina's trail town, the only one," Hall said. "It's the first one that the northbound hikers come to — the first trail town. They look forward to being here — to resupply, to take a shower, to get their clothes clean and to take a little break, usually a day or two before getting back on the trail and heading north again."
Johnny Casey has covered Madison County for The Citizen Times and The News-Record & Sentinel for three years. He earned a first-place award in beat news reporting in the 2023 North Carolina Press Association awards. He can be reached at 828-210-6074 or [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Appalachian Trailfest in Hot Springs canceled, 2nd-largest AT festival
