With hundreds of tickets already sold, this year’s Rides & Reggae Festival sounds ready to takeover New Castle on Saturday.
Since 2017, the town has hosted fall and summer trails conferences but decided to add more bikes and bass to this year’s installment.
“This is our first time branding it as Rides & Reggae Festival,” Town Councilor Graham Riddile said of Saturday’s event that will take place at VIX Ranch Park, 627 N. Wildhorse Drive.
The festival’s rides include three mountain bike races for kids, intermediate and advanced riders.
The youth race takes kids ages 12 and under along the lower portion of the Stairway to Heaven Trail and down the Goose Flowtrail, and parents may ride or run along with their children. The intermediate race will take riders on different trails spanning 10 miles, with over 2,500 feet of climbing, whereas the advanced race includes 20 miles of trail and 5,000 feet of climbing.
“The impetus was really to celebrate all of our trail work we’ve been doing in New Castle,” Riddile explained of the trails that community volunteers helped build. “We want to showcase our network.
Registration for the advanced 20-mile race costs $50, while the 10-mile race costs $40. Both prices include festival access, lunch and a beer. The kid’s race has no charge.
General admission to the Rides & Reggae Festival costs $15 in advance and $20 on the day of the event.
Beginning at 10:30 a.m. and lasting until 8:45 p.m. the festival will feature eight musical acts including headliner, reggae rock band Passafire.
“It’s a full rock set and a full reggae set and everything in between,” Passafire bassist and vocalist Will Kubley described of what concertgoers can expect from the four-piece outfit based out of Savannah, Georgia.
“When we get tour dates in Colorado, those shows always just go off every time, so it’s just exciting to be out here.”
Although Passafire has performed for audiences across Colorado and the country for the last 16 years, this will mark their first time playing in New Castle.
“With festivals there is less time to prepare and you kind of just ‘throw and go’ as we say; and I think that is an exciting element to just get on stage and play your music,” Kubley said. “And, beautiful outdoor venues are always a plus too.”
Rides & Reggae Festival will also feature local food from EAT Bistro, New Castle Diner and WildStyle Adventurous Cuisine, as well as a beer garden with craft brews supplied by Glenwood Canyon Brew Pub, Palisade Brewing Company and more.
“It lets us show-off New Castle for everything we love about the community, but it also gives the community a chance to get together and enjoy our trails,” Riddile said.
All event proceeds will go toward benefiting New Castle Trails.