ROANOKE, Va. – Roanoke’s Go Outside Festival is having its 15th year this weekend, transforming downtown into a bustling outdoor playground.
Once known as the Roanoke Outdoor Circus, the festival has grown into one of the nation’s largest outdoor events, attracting around 40,000 participants annually.
Visitors from across the U.S. come to hike, rock climb, slackline, and enjoy a variety of outdoor activities.
“So excited, we traveled in from Ohio probably about five hours just for this,” said Justine Feinstein, a festival participant.
Feinstein added, “We do a lot of outdoorsy things and have never been to an outdoor festival, so when we found out about it, we were like, okay, let’s come.”
Local resident Colin Walker said he plans to enjoy the music at Elmwood Park and catch the Lumberjack show.
The festival also brings together many brands and nonprofits for participants to explore.
Mark Shifflett, general manager of Water by Design, said, “We’re super excited, this is always a very fun show, and we have people signed up to test some stuff, so we’re very excited.”
Scott Wilfling from Oboz footwear’s outreach and education team said, “This is the one event on our schedule that we truly look forward to, kind of catered to that outdoor crowd. Three-day festival, 40,000 plus people, our kind of audience, and we’re stoked to be here.”
Shifflett added, “Something like this is usually once a year. We do a ton of shows, but this is very special.”