FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — The largest single-day festival in West Virginia is making its way back to the famous New River Gorge this Saturday, and some Fayette County area officials are predicting the event is only getting larger.
Over 100,000 people, along with hundreds of BASE jumpers, parachuters, rappelers, and outdoor enthusiasts alike make their way out to Bridge Day, an event that’s been celebrating the state’s famous steel-arch bridge for more than 40 years now.
New River Gorge National Park District Supervisor Dave Bieri said last year’s event was probably the busiest Bridge Day yet, bringing in about 140,000 people aiming to get a look at the structure towering 876 feet above the gorge.
He said the growing numbers are most-likely due to a few different factors– from last year’s great weather to the fact that the event had been cancelled for two years prior because of the pandemic– but he believes there’s also another major motive.
“The big part of it is just the extra visitors that we’re seeing here since we’ve been re-designated as a national park from a national river, our visitation has jumped quite a bit here,” Bieri told MetroNews.
He said last year they were running about 25% more visitation than previous years, and this year, yet another 25% up from that is anticipated.
Fayette County Chamber of Commerce President and Bridge Day Commission member Becky Sullivan agrees that the national park designation has peaked the draw towards Bridge Day for many returning and first-time visitors alike, including those looking to set up their business for a day along Route 19 leading up to the bridge.
“Bridge Day is getting more and more recognition, so we’re seeing a lot of new interest in Bridge Day, we’ve got probably about 40% new vendors attending the event, and they are traveling from all over to come this year,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said she works with a crew of around 80 volunteers who ensure Bridge Day is running as smoothly as possible every year. One reason the event ran so smoothly last year, she said, lends itself to the improvements in communication the volunteers continue to try and make.
She said increased communication from those participating could also be yet another factor for the growing attraction to the event, as well, and it may simply come down to word-of-mouth from all of those who attend.
“With every Bridge Day that we have, the national recognition that we get, and the promotional efforts that are spread far and wide, spread the news about Bridge Day and the uniqueness of the event,” she said.
In addition to all of the spectators taking part in the festivities, last year, the park welcomed in around 380 BASE jumpers and hundreds of other rappelers from around the country and the world to be able to say they took a plunge off the bridge. It’s the only day out of the year where it’s legal for them to do so.
Bieri said multiple agencies from around the region come together to be on hand for the day to prevent any major injuries or even casualties as a result of jumping from such a height.
“BASE jumping off a bridge is an inherently dangerous sport, but we just do it the one day a year, we can kind of put some precautions into place and make it as safe as possible,” he said. 
Bieri said Jan-Care Ambulance sets up down at Fayette Station below the bridge with a number of EMS personnel on-hand to provide immediate first-aid, and a mobile field hospital tent gets put in place, as well.
He said search and rescue crews come out beforehand and place rigging in the trees to pull jumpers down, as well boats are stationed in the water to pull jumpers in who end up in the river.
State tourism officials say this year’s fall foliage will be at its peak in color, and Bieri said that is just an extra perk to the good-time the event already offers.
“It’s just a great day to be out in the park, it’s just a good time to get outside, it usually coincides with the fall colors and I think that’s shaping up to be the case for this year for sure,” he said.
“So, it’s just a fun day to get out and see all of the festivities at the bridge besides the jumpers, there’s a whole lot going on on top of the bridge too with all of the different vendors, there’s things for just about everybody to do,” Bieri added.
Sullivan said Bridge Day may be just one day out of the year, but the state reaps the benefits of it for a much longer time afterward.
“I love it, I think it’s a wonderful thing for our area and for our entire state, because it just helps us to increase the positive awareness, the hospitable way of our people,” she said.
Sullivan said there will be a total of six shuttle service parking lots available beginning when the event starts at 9 a.m. She said there will be a total of four set up on the southside of the bridge and two on the north.
The shuttle pick-up will be available at the following locations:
. On the southside: New River Health in Oak Hill; Walmart in Fayetteville; Fayetteville Pre K-8 Elementary School; and the Fayette County Courthouse
. On the northside: Midland Trail High School and the Lighthouse Worship Center
It’s a park-and-ride and the cost is $5. Bridge Day-goers will get picked-up on a school bus at those locations and will ride out to the bridge from there.
Route 19 closes to traffic starting at 7 a.m. Saturday and a detour will be set in place on Interstate-79 and I-64/ 77. Sullivan said the detour adds about 45 minutes to the trip depending on traffic.
Bridge Day wraps up by 3 p.m. and Route 19 will re-open starting at 5 p.m.
"gorged" - Google News
October 19, 2023 at 01:30AM
https://ift.tt/XU4JmeT
Bridge Day 2023 set to get underway in the New River Gorge Saturday - WCHS Network
"gorged" - Google News
https://ift.tt/vsCNKby
https://ift.tt/WyXpfDr
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Bridge Day 2023 set to get underway in the New River Gorge Saturday - WCHS Network"
Post a Comment