The Nantahala Outdoor Center, in Western North Carolina, is staging their inaugural A.T. Founders’ Bridge Festival, a hiking festival for thru-hikers and day hikers alike that will feature wilderness skills clinics, presentations by Andrew Skurka and Jennifer Pharr Davis, live music, and product giveaways. The event joins a growing list of festivals surrounding the A.T., including the April Fool’s Day Trail Days festival in nearby Franklin the week before. The NOC festival is scheduled for April 8-10. The timing should be perfect to catch many north-bound thru-hikers heading through the gorge on their 2,000-mile trek. Find out more here.