If you cannot imagine what it’s like for a town of 900 or so people to throw a party for 20,000 folks for five days, come to Damascus, Virginia, and find out how they do it.
Trail Days — which officially runs from May 17th through the 19th — is already cranking.
A zillion Appalachian Trail thru-hikers, wannabes, outdoorsy folks, off-road bicyclists and an occasional normal person will gather for a fabulously good time.
Note: Please bring your own motel room. Thank you.
The fun has begun.
Click Here for the Official Trail Days Schedule
There’s the regular festival stuff — food, music, cuties, Trail gizmos and plenty of people to stare at (but don’t, please).
Trail Days has irregular stuff too:
- free gear repair services
- hot meals served by churches
- medical screenings
- concerts and a
- humongous town-wide yard sale.
Note to thru-hikers: Please don’t abandon your “great deals” on the AT. Thank you.
The hiker parade is still planned for Saturday. Organizers hate to rain on anybody’s parade, but “tossing” water balloons at beauty queens, antique and restored cars, children on bikes and/or the mayor … as has been done in the past … with … shall we say “gusto” … will no longer be allowed.
Squirt guns, however, are welcome — if aimed at hikers. In fact, the town’s beautification committee will thank you, as will everyone else downwind of the thru-hiders.
If you insist on throwing water balloons at someone, go to a nearby park and throw them at yourself. Thank you.
Trail Days 2013 in Damascus is simply going to be a blast.
Hope to see you there. I’ll be the bearded guy in jeans, boots and a T-shirt. Make sure you say hello.
