Over the past weekend, the Meet the Mountains festival took place all across Johnson City in an effort to appreciate and bring awareness to outdoor recreation.
“The festival is about encouraging the community to live healthy, active lifestyles and learn more about all the amazing outdoor opportunities in the area,” said Kayla Carter, outdoor development manager for the Northeast Tennessee Regional Economic Partnership.
The two-day Meet The Mountains festival had an abundant amount of activities in their use of the outdoors across three zones: air, earth and water. The events took place in various sites around Johnson City, such as the Market Pavilion, Founders Park, King Commons and the Amphitheater.
Friday’s festivities kicked off in the Water Zone with the Butterflies & Wildflowers Nature Program early in the morning and continued later on with the ETSU Challenge Course, Bikepacking 101, Dock Diving, Light Up JC Bike Ride, Weed Wrangle, Tannery at Twilight, Brain Health Benefits of Outdoor Activities, Cultivating the Outdoor Economy and Mountain Mile Beer Challenge. Other Friday activities included air soft and archery, axe throwing, rock wall climbing and ziplining in the Air Zone. Meanwhile, the Earth Zone held an all-afternoon bike skills course.
On Saturday, the Air and Earth Zones featured the same activities, but the Water Zone offered FiA Bootcamp Workout, a donut run, Johnson City Farmer’s Market, map and compass basics, Barefoot in The Park Yoga and a Buffalo Mountain sunrise hike. The Water Zone also had a various selection of wilderness classes, such as Wilderness 101 and Wilderness First Aid. A mountain bike series, disc golf tournament, poker ride and diverse hikes were also offered in the Water Zone.
The festival also had gear tents to trade out or sell used gear. Music for the festival was provided by Vintage Pistols on Friday and The Way Down Wanderers on Saturday.
“The biggest challenge for any event is always weather,” Carter said. “But, lucky for us, that’s a large part of being outdoors. The most rewarding part of having a festival like this is seeing the community literally come together in celebration of our outdoor recreation resources.”
To get involved with outdoor events and planning, contact NETREP at https://www.northeasttn.com/outdoor-action-plan. To keep an eye out for the next Meet The Mountains festival, visit https://www.mtmfest.com and follow them on social media.
