International Whitewater Hall of Fame

If you are planning on attending the 2009 IWHOF Induction Event at the Nantahala Outdoor Center Saturday, September 26th, 2009, buy your tickets now! There will be some great events to take part in that feature our 2009 Honorees and promote the International Whitewater Hall of Fame, but Dinner Tickets will be limited and are being sold on a first come-first serve basis. The following information is designed to help you purchase your dinner tickets and make any lodging and/or travel arrangements. More information regarding the itinerary for the Induction Weekend will be coming soon.

Dinner Tickets and Reservations.
The Induction Dinner for our 2009 Honorees will be a small and intimate formal affair. Due to the nature of the Nantahala Outdoor Center Guest Appreciation Festival (GAF) and “Nantyfest” NOC’s campus will be jam-packed with rafters, kayakers, outdoor retail dealers and representatives and festival-goers. This is the biggest event NOC hosts each year so we expect dinner tickets and dinner reservations to sell out fast. Quantities are limited this year due to limited restaurant space. Please make your dinner reservations ASAP so you will not be disappointed. Dinner tickets are $50 each plus tax and can be purchased by telephone by calling 888-905-7238 or by going online to www.noc.com, clicking on the “Book Now” screen and following the directions on screen. Search “Other Programs” on September 26, 2009 as illustrated in the screen shot below:

It will probably be easier for most of you to call the toll free number and make your reservation rather than using the online booking system. When you make your reservation, you will be asked to give the name of everyone in your party you are paying for, and provide your choice of entrée for the dinner. You may choose chicken, fish, or vegetarian. If you book online, the place to designate your choice of entrée is in the comments field, which is one of the last screens you’ll see in the online booking process.

Lodging.
Because the Induction Dinner and Event is taking place during NOC’s busiest festival of the year, lodging on site is severely limited. There are a number of lodging options available on site. If you book your dinner ticket online, you will also have the option of selecting lodging from available options at the time you make your reservation. You may also choose to find your own lodging at a local hotel or Bed and Breakfast. There are a number of hotels in a lot of different price ranges in the Bryson City area and nearby communities of Cherokee and Murphy, NC. A list of these options is below:

Discounted Lodging
The Best Western Hotel in Murphy is offering a 20% discount off their rack rate for reservations made by September 15, 2009; and a 15% discount for reservations made up until September 25th.

To receive your IWHOF Discount at the Best Western Hotel in Murphy, you need to contact the hotel directly to make your reservation and mention the IWHOF Event. You can contact the hotel by phone or email at 828-837-3060 or reservations@bestwesternmurphy.com.

Bryson City Lodging:
Microtel–Brand New Hotel, nice rooms 828-488-7900 Sleep Inn–828-488-0326 Ridge Top Motel–828-488-6363 Fryemont Inn–very nice and probably expensive–828-488-2159

Cherokee Lodging:
In Cherokee about 7 miles east of Bryson City–on the Native American Indian Reservation, there are a lot of Hotels because of the Casino
Harrah’s Cherokee–Casino, very nice–828-497-7777 Holiday Inn–877-863-4780 Holiday Inn Express–828-497-3113 Comfort Suites–828-497-3500 Quality Inn–828-497-4702 Hampton Inn–828-497-3115 Baymont Inn–828-497-2102

Murphy Lodging:
In Murphy, about 25 miles west of NOC, there are hotels as well.
The Hampton Inn is very nice–828-837-1628 Best Western–828-837-3060 Holiday Inn Express–877-863-4780 Days Inn 828-837-8030

Travel.
I know a number of you may be flying into Atlanta-Hartsfield International Airport. Some of you will be renting a car. If you choose to rent a car, I strongly recommend purchasing the insurance coverage the rental agency offers you to avoid any additional expenses the rental car company would charge if there is damage to your vehicle. NOC will be packed with visitors during the induction weekend with visitors from all over the southeastern United States. Last year, the rental car of one of our honorees was damaged by a small collision when it was parked in a parking lot near the Nantahala Outdoor Center.

Schedule of the Day.
We hope you will all arrive prior to Friday morning so that you have time to rest before the induction event and perhaps do some traveling in the area. We are located on the southern side of Great Smoky Mountain National Park, which is the world’s most attended national park with over ten million visitors each year. The National Park is also designated a World Biosphere Preserve and the Appalachian Trail, which runs from Maine to Georgia, pretty much divides the park along the North Carolina and Tennessee State Line. The scenery is breathtaking.

But on Saturday, September 26th, the peak day of GAF and Nantyfest, we are considering a number of activities to promote the International Whitewater Hall of Fame and each of our Honorees. One of the most exciting activities we are considering is a possible Raft Trip on the Nantahala commemorating Project RAFT 1990, which was held on the Nantahala River. Honoree Rafael Gallo was a part of that event 19 years ago and the event itself was a direct result of the work Honoree Mikhail Kolchevnikov did in Russia, creating the Chuya Rally, which evolved into Project RAFT and which later evolved into the International Rafting Federation and the World Rafting Championships.

A complete IWHOF Induction Event Schedule with full details will be posted here soon.

Finally, at 5 pm, we will all gather upstairs in Relia’s Garden, with Honoree William Nealy’s art displayed on the walls, for our formal dinner, a video presentation, and the 2009 IWHOF Induction Ceremony.

On behalf of the IWHOF Board of Governors, we are all looking forward to welcoming you and having a very special weekend together. If you have any questions about the event, please contact Program Director Matt Urdan.