North Florida Music and Camping Festival

Magnolia Fest 2006 Photo By Hailey Petway

Magnolia Fest is a four day music festival. Music aficionados can spend the day or the weekend swimming, kayaking and swaying in hammocks.

Sing and dance from Oct. 23 to 26 at the Spirit of the Suwanee Music Park in Live Oak, Fla.  The park offers horseback riding, hiking trails, bicycles for rent, kayaking and canoeing on the Suwanee River. The river has beautiful but stinky sulfur springs and ruins from an old resort.

The festival offers free admission to volunteers. This is especially popular amoung students. Volunteers work four-hour shifts three times over the weekend. The jobs range from cooking for the musicians to banding the incoming patrons.

The second best thing is the atmosphere. Young and old relax together over the long weekend. The campsites are usually partitioned by the campers with tarps or blankets, giving the individual sites more privacy. The camping area forms a loop away from the music with the ends leading to the music stages.

The festival offers all kinds of local music like bluegrass, reggae, and rock and roll. Some of the most popular bands are Donna the Buffalo and The Duhks. The music plays day and night over the four days.

There are two main stages. The first stage is in a grove of trees and a forest of hammocks surround it. Individuals bring their own hammocks and set them up, allowing others to use them when the owners are elsewhere. 

Between the stages there is a market. Local craftsmen sell different types of art, organic goods, food, instruments, and of course hammocks.

Photo by Hailey Petway

Fall Kayak Challenges in North Florida

Have you ever wondered what it is like to spend a day in a kayak? Or how it would feel to paddle 52 miles?

If you answered yes to these questions, then check out the seventh annual Suwannee River Challenge & Marathon on Oct. 11th. The Challenge race spans 52-miles, a feat for any paddler.

An all day event, the race will start at dawn in Fargo, Ga and will end at sundown in White Springs, Fl at the 136 bridge. The participants are encouraged to bring support crews for the event. The half way point of the race is the SR-6 bridge where paddlers can meet their support crews to grab food or other supplies.

The Suwanee Marathon is a 26-mile race that begins at the SR -6 bridge and ends also in White Springs, Fl.

Both races go through Big Shoals, the only class III white water in Florida. This area will be clearly marked. 

Sunrise will be at approximately 7:35 am and Sunset will be at approximately 7:03 p.m. The entre fee is 35 dollars before Oct. 1st, and after then it is 45 dollars. Each Participant will be given a free t-shirt.

There are separate divisions:
Sea Kayak – Male/Female, Downriver Kayak – Male/Female, Unlimited Kayak (19+) – Male/Female, Tandem Kayak – Male/Female, Solo Canoe (C-1) – Male/Female, Tandem Canoe (C-2) – Male/Female, and Tandem Canoe (C-2) – Male/Female/Co-ed.

This video was made by a group who shoot the rapids through Big Shoals.