Weather Info

The Rain Plan

Due to high rainfall the week of the original festival, we have made the decision to MOVE ALL EVENTS to SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6.

We know a little rain never hurt anyone, but it’s wasn’t a little rain… it was a monumental amount of sky water.

With high water levels in the river and the creeks, the trail is seeing a lot of flooding, making water crossings dangerous and trail passage generally unsafe. Plus, it’s just plain muddy. Even a few feet and bike tires, let alone hundreds, on muddy terrain can destroy the trail and create a lot of problems for future use.

And we don’t want that. We are friends of the trail and we know you are, too.

But it’s not all bad news! We’re gonna do the dang thing next weekend, on Sunday, October 6! As of now, the event schedule will remain the same.

It's still a party, folks!

We’ll update as things progress. Please bear with us as our entertainment, food trucks and some other details may change due to the last minute rescheduling. We’re doing our best to make this year’s festival amazing.

The Rain Plan

We are actively keeping an eye on the forecast and will make an official decision about Saturday’s events no later than 5:00 pm on Friday, September 22. That update will be posted right here on this page.

Many of Sunday’s events can be held indoors and will go on as planned regardless of weather, but we will update you on Sunday’s trail events once we assess trail conditions on Saturday.

How much rain is too much rain?

Great question. It’s a hard one to answer.

Our top priorities are keeping our participants and volunteers safe, and preserving the trail we love so much.

We know that many of you would rally and support the event in the rain, anyway, and we LOVE your spirit… AND, we also need to be mindful that even a few feet and bike tires, let alone hundreds, on muddy terrain will destroy the trail and create a lot of problems for future use.

We don’t want that.

Light rain and/or short periods of rain would put us in a position to continue with all trail activities, but it’s just hard to tell right now how much rain we may be getting.

What is the decision to postpone/cancel based on?

Currently, there are different forecasts from different weather apps and sources (we’ve seen them all, we promise!) with somewhat conflicting information.

Our decision will be based on these things:

How heavy the rain is forecasted to be (and its forecasted accumulation over the day)
How long the rain is supposed to last
Temperatures accompanying the wet weather
The safety and enjoyment of our volunteers, participants, staff, and entertainment
The projected negative impact on trail conditions and preservation

So... what is the rain plan?

We will announce the plan for Saturday by 5:00 pm on Friday, September 22nd, here on this page.

If there is too much rain to hold the trail events, they will be canceled.

If rain is forecasted during the scheduled Mighty Joshua concert (6p to 8p), the concert will be rescheduled for the following day, Sunday, September 24th at the same time, also at Rivanna River Co. Food and drink will also be available for purchase onsite if the concert is moved to Sunday.

Sunday’s weather is looking quite nice for now, but we will need to assess the trail conditions after we see how much rain we get on Saturday. Food, beer, Trail Talks, awards and closing ceremony, and music will be held indoors at The Wool Factory, regardless of weather.