From Monday, April 27 – Sunday, May 3rd, we’ll be sharing musical performances, Education Eddy presentations, and kid’s activities, we’ll host a Virtual 5K Foot Race, curate our most silent, silent auction yet and more (in the works).  We invite everyone to join regardless of financial situation, and those who are in a place to donate can do so by buying a ticked or a fest t-shirt. Read below to see how you can get involved and keep your eyes and ears open for more info to come!

Sending Cheat Fest Love!
Friends of the Cheat

Virtual 5K Foot Race

Join us in movement & in spirit for a virtual 5K foot race. We’ll be running, from our homes, throughout Cheat Fest Week. Registration is free, with the option to donate. Learn more and register here today! 

“Kid’s Tent” – Colors of the Cheat Coloring Contest!

Kids & Adults Festival Art Coloring Contest – Download Here! 

If you have a printer, print the Cheat Fest Artwork linked below, pick your favorite artwork and color it in with crayons, markers, paints, scraps of colored paper, dirt, or whatever you’ve got. If you don’t have a printer, no big deal, draw a picture inspired by the Cheat Fest Artwork OR create your own festival artwork!!

Take a photo of your (or your kid’s) artwork (entries limited to: infinity), post it on our social media with the hashtag #colorsofthecheat AND e-mail it to cheatfest@cheat.org with the subject line: COLORS OF THE CHEAT. We’ll share them with the community and come up with winners based on unforseen and unknowable criteria! There will be a prize!

Virtual Silent Auction

This year we’re taking our silent auction to a whole new level of silence. Many of our vendors, artists and sponsors are still generously donating items to this effort. Bid on your favorite items throughout Cheat Fest From Home week. All proceeds will go towards covering lost festival expenses and supporting the work of Friends of the Cheat. If you’d like to donate something, please e-mail Lisa at silentauction@cheat.org. Thank you to Lisa for adapting and leading this!

Community Song Share

Even though we can’t gather this year, we can still share music and joy from afar. Some of my favorite Cheat Fest sets come from the campfire jams that dot the festival grounds. If you can, record yourself playing a song and send it to us to share with the community during Cheat Fest Week!

Education Eddy T.V.!

Tune in throughout Cheat Fest From Home Week where we’ll release videos from folks we love about the watershed we love! Get ready to hear local stars Charlie Walbridge talk whitewater history, Amanda Pitzer talk about the Dam, and more! And, if you’d like to present, contact Lauren at Cheatfest@cheat.org!  Check out our tentative line-up, as it comes together at the Ed Eddy Page Here! 

Virtual 5K Foot Race

Join us in movement & in spirit for a virtual 5K foot race. We’ll be running, from our homes, throughout Cheat Fest Week. Registration is free, with the option to donate. Learn more and register here today! 

Festival “Ticket” Donations & T-Shirts

If you’re a Cheat River lover and looking for a way to financially support us during this time, consider either donating by buying a “ticket”, or getting one of the beautiful shirts featuring John Victor’s artwork! We cannot yet say when shirts will be printed, but will be sure to use safe handling and shipping practices once we are able to place the order!

$30 for Friday & Saturday “Non-Event” Donation
Festival Shirts Now Available for Pre-Order

Whitewater Recreation

Although for us in the East this is the glorious spring paddling season, we are all called to adjust our behaviors, as a community, for our collective health. FOC owned and managed river access sites are open for use following CDC guidelines. However, we have closed the bathrooms at the festival site Cheat Canyon put-in. We are discouraging the gathering of groups over 10 and will monitor site use and make changes as necessary. Stay well within your skill level while undertaking any risky activity during this time – you don’t want to take up a hospital bed or distract emergency responders because you injured yourself. 

Furthermore, please stay close to home with any outdoor activity – in your own zip code please! Traveling to that special camping spot or whitewater run exposes locals in rural communities with already limited health care. Think about how your actions could impact others. This article from Paddling Magazine can help – but please don’t explore new locations right now.  And remember, always stay 6 feet apart from your companions, on land and in the water!

With certain precautions, getting outside is a great way to stay active, and connected. This article, shared originally by our friends at OVEC, reminds us that there are many lessons to be learned from nature. We may have to be physically distanced but we can still stay connected – like the trees in the forest.

• Please don’t travel far from home to paddle; this is a great moment to practice skills in flatwater, revisit the home-town run you first learned on, or focus on shoulder health & injury prevention!
• Don’t gather in groups and maintain physical distance (this might mean figuring out human powered shuttle options)
• Stay well within or below your skill level. Let’s support the healthcare system by staying injury free!
• Definitely get outside, stay active, happy & healthy!
• Check out this great article on Paddling Activity in Quarantimes by American Whitewater