It's never too early to think about Bridge Day

Steve Keenan, The Register-Herald, Beckley, W.Va.
Updated ·4 min read

Jan. 20—Although it's months away and the more important focus now is on the snow and cold, several facets of the annual Bridge Day celebration are already fully engaged.

This year's event is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 19, and the BASE jumpers and rappellers, sellers and buyers and racers and gawkers will be arriving before you know it.

Tim Naylor, executive assistant for the New River Gorge CVB and Fayette County Chamber of Commerce, which joins the supervisory Bridge Day Commission to help the event spring to life, says people and organizations are already looking ahead and registering for this year's Bridge Day.

The popular Bridge Day Into the Gorge shuttles had already attracted 79 registrants as of Thursday, Jan. 18, and vendors have begun to sign up to sell their wares near the bridge on the third Saturday in October.

According to Naylor, there are 500 Into the Gorge spots available. They cost $40 before July 1 and $50 after that. Interested individuals can call the Chamber/CVB office at 304-465-5617 or visit www.officialbridgeday.com to buy their tickets.

"The Into the Gorge tickets are a hot commodity, they're a hot item," said Naylor. "The only way you can get to the bottom (other than walking, bicycling, or in an official capacity) is the Into the Gorge ticket. They sell out every year; they sell out quick. If you're going to get them, you need to get them now."

Being on the floor of the gorge allows a different perspective through which to take in the activities during Bridge Day, Naylor says. "It's just a different way to see the BASE jumpers land, and it's a really cool experience for those who've never done it."

The Into the Gorge experience is sponsored by Adventures on the Gorge.

Ticket buyers catch a designated bus on top at one of the flagged stops and are transported down to the bottom and disembark. "When you're ready to come back up, you can come back up," Naylor said. "You can do that as many times as you want throughout the course of the day."

Also, registration for vendors is open. As of Thursday afternoon, 34 vendors had taken care of their paperwork to be involved in 2024. "That's a good number in January to be starting off with," Naylor said.

"There are quite a few who are new, and again that was the big thing last year; we had a lot of new vendors and we're going to have a lot more new vendors (in 2024), it looks like."

A total of 200 vendor spots are available. "I can't emphasize enough how important it is to go ahead and get that registration taken care of if you want to continue having your vendor booth this year," he said.

Booth fees are as follows:

—Non-chamber members: $225 before July 1 and $350 after July 1.

—Chamber members: $125 before July 1 and $175 after July 1 (must be an active Chamber member of one year or more).

There is a $15 application fee. The fee is per application and is non-refundable.

Vendor registration will close the week before Bridge Day. "Last year, we sold out early, so I expect it will happen again this year."

Registration for BASE jumping opens in July. BASE is an acronym for bridge, antenna, span and earth, the fixed objects from which participants parachute.

There are also a limited number of tandem Bridge Day jumps available from the company Tandem Base, Naylor said. To see if these are available this year, visit tandembase.com.

Sponsorships are welcome to support Bridge Day, according to Naylor. "We're always looking for sponsors of the event," he said. "There are a lot of opportunities for sponsorship."

Away from the CVB office, Active Southern West Virginia is currently seeking registrants for the annual Bridge Day 5K, which will occur on Oct. 19 as Bridge Day officially arrives.

The fee for the race is currently $45. The price increases after Feb. 25.

For more information about the race, visit https://activeswv.org/bridge-day-5k-run/.

For more on Bridge Day, visit officialbridgeday.com.