ROANOKE, Va. – Music, beer, and jaw-dropping stunts are returning to Roanoke this weekend for the 13th annual Anthem GO Outside Festival.
Event Manager Kait Pedigo says she’s expecting 40,000 people to attend, which means a huge boost for local businesses.
Last year, GO Fest brought in $2.1 million in spending.
“When we talk about economic impact, what we’re talking about is people spending money in our area who are not from our area. And that’s money on restaurants, it’s money here on the festival, on food, on merchandise, on retail items, on gear, outdoor gear,” said Pedigo. “It’s also people staying in hotels, it’s people buying gas in the area.”
Tim Pohlad-Thomas, the director of marketing and events at Wilderness Adventure in Craig County, said he loves seeing new faces.
“It’s great just to kind of get us out there to people that may have never seen us before,” said Pohlad-Thomas. “We are out in Craig County, so we have to do a lot of work to try to get our name out there to all over Virginia. But we have people that come to our camps from all over Virginia, all over the East Coast and really all over the United States.”
If you’re driving in, plan ahead and get there early. Parts of Jefferson Street and Franklin Road near Elmwood Park will be shut down for the three-day festival.
Everything else is open so people should be able to navigate pretty normally,” said Pedigo.
As for parking, there are free street parking and garages available.
“People can ride a bike,” said Pedigo. “We’ve got a bike valet here. People can walk. They can take the bus. There’s a ton of ways to get here.”
New this year, GOFest is partnering with Roanoke County’s Explore Park, offering camping, outdoor activities, and free shuttles to and from Elmwood Park. With such large crowds expected, Pedigo says safety is a priority.
“We have hired police and we’ve also hired private security,” said Pedigo. “They are stationed throughout the festival.”
An adventure-filled weekend for all.
“This is all about getting people outside at the very core of it,” said Pedigo.