2017 NICOFest at the Dragon Itinerary and Registration

We return again to the Tail of the Dragon! Join us for annual NICOFest at the Dragon event at Fontana Village Resort in Fontana Village, NC on Labor Day weekend. September 1st-4th. See you there!
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Welcome once again to NICOFest at the Dragon!

Due to multiple requests to do the same route as last year, we'll be doing it again with some minor changes! Registration will also be the same as last year, a flat rate of $40/person. Here is what we are planning:

Rafting trip on Friday, location TBA (additional cost, not including with registration)
Saturday mountain cruise - ~200 miles through some of NC's greatest roads with a lunch stop half way (lunch not provided)
BBQ Dinner Saturday night
Use of the Oak Suite throughout the weekend for dinner/games/activities
Games/Activities will include beer pong, bar-style Nissan Trivia, and other games
5 "50/50" raffle tickets

Trivia team winner will also receive $50 cash.

Raffle will be held Saturday evening during dinner. Additional raffle tickets will be available at the event for $2 each. For every ticket, $1.00 will be added to the pot.

To register, click on the following button to PayPal your registration fee.
REGISTRATION CLOSED
Now for the itinerary! Here is the itinerary and route plan for the weekend. To view the route plan in Google Maps, go to http://tinyurl.com/2017DragonRoute
Here are the step by step instructions:

Total Drive 200 mi, 4 hours, 57 minutes

Fontana Village, NC to Oconaluftee Overlook
44.2 mi, 58 minutes
Head east on NC-28 S toward Welch Rd
22.7 mi
Turn left onto US-19 N/US-74 E
5.19 mi
Keep left to continue on US-74 E
5.44 mi
Take exit 69 toward Hyatt Creek Rd/Ela/Piration Park
1,253 ft
Turn left onto Falls Branch Rd
400 ft
Continue onto Hyatt Creek Rd
1.76 mi
Slight right onto US-19 N
5.56 mi
Turn left onto State Rd 1368
0.627 mi
At the traffic circle, continue straight onto Acquoni Rd
1.21 mi
Turn right onto US-441 N
0.716 mi
Turn right onto Blue Ridge Pkwy
0.710 mi

Oconaluftee Overlook to Rosman, NC
63.6 mi, 1 hour, 44 minutes
Head north on Blue Ridge Pkwy
45.0 mi
Turn left onto the NC-215 ramp
413 ft
Turn right onto NC-215 S (signs for Rosman)
17.1 mi
Turn left onto US-64 E
0.580 mi
Turn right onto US-178 S
0.751 mi

Rosman, NC to Fontana Village, NC
92.4 mi, 2 hours, 14 minutes
Head northwest on US-178 N/Chestnut St toward Church St/Locust St Continue to follow US-178 N
0.751 mi
Turn left onto US-64 W
4.36 mi
Turn right onto Kim Miller Rd
3.04 mi
Turn right onto NC-281 N
23.8 mi
Turn right onto NC-107 N
9.20 mi
Turn left onto S River Rd
1.60 mi
Turn right onto Webster Rd
479 ft
Turn left onto River Rd
3.42 mi
Turn right onto US-23 N/US-441 N
0.559 mi
Keep left to continue on US-441 N
0.300 mi
Take the ramp onto US-441 N/US-74 W
7.43 mi
Keep left to continue on US-74 W
15.2 mi
Turn right onto NC-28 N
22.7 mi

We will also have a schedule radio check at our first stop, the Oconaluftee River Overlook, on Saturday morning to make sure everyone that has a 2 way radio is on the correct channel. We will be using channel 4 with no encryption. This means if you have a radio that has encryption, you will set the big number to "4" and the little number to "0". If the little number is not set to "0" you may hear radio communications but nobody will hear you back!

Friday, September 1st
11:00AM - Rafting trip, location TBA
5:00PM - Meet & Greet at the Oak Suite (Located behind the Wildwood Grill Restaurant)
Make sure to fill up with gas before the cruise on Saturday morning!

Saturday, September 2nd

10:00AM - Depart for Saturday Cruise from the Oak Suite at Fontana Village.

11:00AM - Stop at Ocanulftee River Outlook on the Blue Ridge Pkwy
This is the first overlook after entering the beginning of the Blue Ridge Pkwy. The Pkwy begin just north of Cherokee, NC. We are stopping here to make sure everyone has made it through town together, as Cherokee can have a good bit of traffic. If you didn't fill up with gas before leaving, make sure to do so in Cherokee!

Image

1:00PM - Arrive at Rosman, NC and break for lunch
Remember to fill up again! No more breaks until we're back at Fontana!
3:00PM - Depart Rosman. We will line up on the side of the highway leaving town, so just head out of town and get in line.

6:00PM - Arrive at Fontana Village Resort
7:00PM - BBQ Dinner at Oak Suite
8:00PM - Evening Games & Activities at Oak Suite

Sunday, September 3th

Morning - Take this time to check out the area on your own. Cruise the dragon, check out Fontana Dam, etc. If you're looking for a group of people to go, ask on the radio (channel 4) or simply hang around the Oak Suite. Groups of cars will be in and out all day, so mingle with some new friends and have fun!

Sunday evening, come back to the Oak Suite to hang out, have a few beers, and unwind.

Monday, September 4th
Time to head home!

Don't forget to share this event on social media as well! The Facebook event page can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/235068786994188
For lodging info, see this thread: 2017-nicofest-at-the-dragon-lodging-info-t615814.html


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gmac708
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I'm registered and got my cabin! Looking forward to this event this year, I have missed few but not this one!


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