2011 FESTIVAL INFO

The Nor'easter powered by Eastern Mountain Sports is the ultimate end of summer celebration featuring outdoor sports, music and conservation. On September 23-25, 2011 The Nor'easter landed on Burlington, Vermont's Waterfront Park and brought with it the U.S. pro rock climbing tour, G. Love & Special Sauce, rjd2, Okkervil River, cyclo-cross and much, much more.

Over 7,000 people visited Waterfront Park throughout the weekend and they took in all The Nor'easter had to offer. The North Face Open, the season finale of the U.S. pro rock climbing tour, was a huge hit on Saturday afternoon drawing a large crowd that witnessed Angie Payne and Ian Dory battle out the rest of the competition on their way to victories. Hundreds of people returned the following day to participate in pro climbing clinics and open climbing sessions on the pro tour competition walls.

Nor'easter-goers also participated in group bike rides leaving from North Beach Park as well as paddleboard and kayak demos in Lake Champlain instructed by the Eastern Mountain Sports Schools. The most popular activity of The Nor'easter may very well have been the SmartWool Ridiculissima presented by Merrell. Over 450 "costumed crazies" dressed up in ridiculous outfits and ran a .7 mile course from City Hall to The Nor'easter Main Stage. Penguins, robots, dinosaurs, businessmen and a host of other wild costumes stormed down College St early Friday evening with one common goal in mind; raising money for a good cause. $15 per runner was donated to the VT Irene Flood Relief Fund and due to the outstanding turn out, over $7,000 was raised!

And of course, let's not forget about the 22 band lineup that provided the soundtrack for the weekend. Headliners rjd2, G. Love & Special Sauce and Okkervil River all played killer sets that put the exclamation point on each day of the festival. Other exceptional performances included Mariachi El Bronx, River City Extension Aunt Martha and The Toughcats. The Nor'easter Second Stage, situated on Church St, filled the local restaurants and bars with jazz, blue and R&B all weekend long.