The Bear Shadow music festival has found a new home one month after voluntarily moving out of Horse Cove.
Organizers unveiled a new plan to hold the “base camp” portion of the festival at Winfield Farm in Scaly Mountain. The festival is scheduled to feature multiple musical acts over three days April 23-25.
“We could not be more pleased to be partnering with Winfield Farm for the base camp main stage for Bear Shadow,” said Casey Reid, Bear Shadow Festival Director. “This farmland provides a beautiful backdrop for the event as well as the extra space we wanted to enhance the experience everyone who attends – from transportation and parking to safely enjoying the shows. In addition, the new location provides the space for us to offer additional options for fans, including the addition of four-person COVE ticket options.”
Winfield Farm is a 50-acre property approximately seven miles from Highlands’ Main Street on NC106. According to Reid, the new location provides easy drivability and shuttle routes from downtown Highlands, as well as additional space for parking and viewing areas for the live shows.
To alleviate any potential parking headaches there will be continuous, complimentary shuttles from the Town of Highlands for all three days. Ample parking for over 300 cars will be available on site, and organizers are working on partnerships with additional car services.
Base camp will host a maximum of 1,000 guests per day at the farm, and guests will be seated in four, six or eight-person COVEs (Contained Open-Air Viewing Environments). Each cove will be at least six feet in distance from all other coves and separated by barriers. Additional protocols, such as mask requirements, temperature pre-screening and increased hand sanitizer stations, have also been implemented for the Bear Shadow event. For more information, visit https://bearshadownc.com/information/.
Base camp was originally going to take place at Kelsey-Hutchinson Founders Park in Highlands, but was moved to Oakleaf Home Farm in Horse Cove due to COVID-19-related restrictions on group gatherings and the need for more space to accommodate social distancing. After hearing complaints from neighboring property owners in Horse Cove, organizers decided to change venues for a second time in February before settling on Winfield Farm in Scaly Mountain.
Tickets for Base Camp and the festival’s additional excursions and musical activities, including an intimate Earth Day evening with Chuck Leavell, are available at bearshadownc.com/.