What is the Cheat River Festival?

Cheat Fest is our annual celebration that serves as the primary fundraiser in support of our work. The festival grounds are perfectly nestled along the banks of the Cheat River, just above the protected Canyon section – a stretch of river where whitewater enthusiasts flock to experience the thrilling rapids amidst a true wilderness setting. During the festival, attendees enjoy live music, an art market, a 5K and down river race, a vendor market, and more. Now in its 30th year, Cheat Fest draws up to 4,000 attendees from throughout the mid-Atlantic region and beyond. Festival-goers include: whitewater enthusiasts, environmental advocates, river lovers, fishermen, families, musicians, and artists alike.

 

We also have Down River Race and 5K Race Sponsorship opportunities  available. 

 If you are interested in becoming a Cheat Fest sponsor, we would love to discuss how to create a mutually beneficial partnership between Friends of the Cheat and your business.

Our festival is a part of the broader stewardship work of Friends of the Cheat — it is celebration and recognition of the work that has been done by so many, and it is how we raise the funds to help support the work still to be done. Cheat Fest comes to life thanks to the generous support of our sponsors (and volunteers, musicians, a whole community of people). This ranges from monetary donations to help us obtain necessary contract services and materials for the festival, to partnerships that utilize the unique specialties of your business. We are excited to highlight and thank our sponsors throughout our festival communications and within different experiences during the festival itself. This can look like co-created on-stage announcements, sponsor banners, newsletter thank you’s, and writing throughout our online messaging. We hope you join us in our excitement for this year and look forward to creating sponsorship partnerships that work for you, us, and our community.

 

Please contact  Lisa Maraffa at lisa@cheat.org or (304) 329-3621 to create a sponsorship partnership for your company.