The date is set for an annual outdoor adventure competition and festival coming up not far from Fayetteville this spring.
The annual Brewha Bushwack outdoor adventure challenge and outdoor festival is set for Saturday, April 6 at Byrd’s Adventure Center, located at 7037 Cass Oark Road along the Mulberry River in Ozark.
The event, organized by Pack Rat Outdoor Center, includes a team-based outdoor skills challenge, testing competitors skills on things like fire building, canoe paddling, knot tying, climbing, rappelling, animal track identification, local plant identification, and more.
“What you know is more important than how fast you are,” reads a description of the event on the website. “Physical challenges will test your endurance, but the goal is to push the limit of your team’s diversity of skills, and ability to work together. Make your own path, and set your own pace – the Brewha Bushwhack is a challenge based on points, not time.”
Registration is open for the team-based challenge for this year’s event. Teams will be made up of 3-4 people that will utilize their outdoor and survival skills in a race through hidden checkpoints along the Mulberry River valley.
In addition to the challenge, the event also includes several educational clinics throughout the day, hosted by survival and bushcraft instructors, along with a festival featuring beers from local breweries, live music, equipment demos from vendors, and other festivities. Demos will be lead by Teal Bulthuis of @teal_wild_and_free, Correy Hawk of Organic Archery, Phillip Liebel of Primitive Wilderness Survival, Jen & Keith Syers of Ramshackle Homestead Survival , Jonathan Burton (@thebeardedburton), Amy Valerious of Warlander Enterprises, and Tim Coddington of the Wildernut.
There’s also a Kid’s Quest, which is like a mini-version of the main skills challenge for kids 8-12 years old to learn skills like map & compass navigation, knot tying, emergency shelters, fire starting, signaling, nature identification, off trail hiking, and others.
Tickets to the festival are $35, and come with a drinking vessel for the local brews, access to the clinics and local vendor booths, three beverages, and live music. Breweries expected at this year’s festival include Fossil Cove, Crisis, Bentonville Brewing, Ozark Beer, Core, and Point Remove.
Entry into the Kids Quest is $30, and includes access to the festival. Kids who attend will need weather appropriate clothing for 1-2 hours outside, a small backpack, a 1L water bottle full of water, a baseplate compass, and snacks.
The competition begins at 10 a.m., and the festival kicks off at noon. A schedule of the day’s events is below.
For more information, visit brewhabushwack.com.
Brewha Bushwack 2024 Info
When: April 6, 2024
Where: Byrd’s Adventure Center on the Mulberry River in Northwest Arkansas, 7037 Cass Oark Rd, Ozark, AR 72949
Camping: Primitive camping in the designated Brewha Bushwhack area for Friday and Saturday night, is included with competition registration only. If you’d like a cabin, or campsite with RV or electrical hookups, you may arrange that with Byrd’s Adventure Center.
Schedule: Competitors: We recommend arriving at Byrd’s Adventure Center the evening before the competition, to be present for the mandatory pre-race meeting the following morning. If you are unable to show up until Saturday morning, have your ducks in a row and be ready to go.
Festival: Show up Saturday Morning!
Friday afternoon:
5:00pm Competitor Packet pick up begins
Saturday:
8:00am- 8:30am Late Passport Pick up
9:00am Pre-Bushwhack meeting
10:00am The Competition begins!
12:00pm Festival Activities start
1:00-2:00 Kid’s Quest starts
5:00pm The Bushwhack is over
6:00pm Festivities & Awards
