CAST-PADDLE-HIKE-CLIMB-RIDE-LIVE MUSIC ART-CRAFT BEER-FOOD

(March 22, 2021) After struggling for more than six months with how to operate around the uncertainties surrounding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the team behind the Blue Ridge Trout & Outdoor Adventures Festival (Trout Fest) – the Official Trout Festival of Georgia – canceled the 2021 staging of the popular, outdoor-recreation based festival in Blue Ridge, GA.

“We hoped to see some clear movement by now on the COVID-19 restrictions that might ‘open’ Trout Fest to the large crowd we have come to see at our past festivals. We also moved the 2021 festival date to a later option in spring, hoping to see that relief, while making headway on many of the tasks associated with Trout Fest,” says Trout Fest event coordinator Bob Borgwat. “But the COVID-19 restrictions, guidelines and policies for large festivals, as these relate to the city and Trout Unlimited at the national level, have remained in place and directed us to this decision – a decision that ensures Trout Fest will not contribute to the spread of COVID-19. That’s the bottom line: We want Trout Fest to remain a safe and engaging environment for our visitors, sponsors, vendors and staff. We’ll see everyone again in spring 2022.”

COMING NEXT YEAR!  

Presented by Blue Ridge Mountain Trout Unlimited Chapter 696 and the Fannin County Chamber of Commerce, Trout Fest this spring would have presented its fifth annual event that gathers fishermen, river sports enthusiasts, and outdoor recreation fans and their families in Blue Ridge, Georgia for fun, food, entertainment, shopping, instruction and recreational services while increasing the public's knowledge of trout and the conservation ethos associated with Trout Unlimited.

Located just 90 minutes north of Atlanta and 90 minutes east of Chattanooga, Trout Fest combines trout fishing with outdoor recreation, wildlife art, outfitter gear/services/instruction, and an Activity Zone in the historic downtown district of Blue Ridge and Fannin County, the Official Trout Capital of Georgia. 

“We planned for more than 3,500 visitors at Trout Fest ’21, our biggest Trout Fest yet,” Borgwat says, “but we’ll be back next year with new trout-fishing programs and fly-fishing instruction that’s sure to hook anglers from all over the Southeast. We’ll have mountain bike and kayak demos, a trout-fishing pond, axe throwing, gem mining and more … all of this in an all-new Trout Fest Activity Zone that safely opens up a world of outdoor fun centered on Fannin County. Local craft beer and locally produced wines will be on tap for serving alongside food trucks in the Trout Fest Food Court, and the Trout Fest Sound Stage will present our first concert program with artists from Atlanta and Nashville.”

Visitors, vendors and sponsors for Trout Fest 2022 can learn more and get updates on Trout Fest 2022 on the event website – BlueRidgeTroutFest.com – and the Blue Ridge Trout & Outdoor Adventures Festival Facebook page.