(Photo provided)

Jacqui McGuinness built a business out of consumer boat shows in the Southeast, but her pivot into the nonprofit sector is bringing the Everything Outdoor Festival to Historic Hopkins Farm in Simpsonville on Nov. 2-3. 

A festival of all things outdoors, McGuinness and her team promise the weekend will include demonstrations, classes, family-friendly activities, and everything from paddleboarding to biking and running. 

Inclusiveness is a key component of the event, with a collaboration to feature adaptive sports (para sports) – activities that have been modified so that people with disabilities or injuries are able to participate – new this year. 

"We want to ensure the outdoors is an accessible reality for everyone,” says McGuinness, the event's founder and president. Partnering with Roger C. Peace Rehabilitation Hospital and event sponsor Prisma Health, both adaptive golf and cycling will be featured. Additionally, adaptive archery for those with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) will be offered from The Little White House, a Simpsonville area nonprofit.

The festival came out of the pandemic, when McGuinness found herself at home in the Upstate. Having successfully launched JBM & Associates in 2001 to manage boat shows in the Charleston area, when Covid-19 paused the events, she took stock of her surroundings. 

People were getting outside, and McGuinness, who was also the president of the National Association of Consumer Shows at the time, took notice. "You started seeing that boats, RVs, campers were selling out," she recalls. The idea for the Everything Outdoor Fest came from this renewed focus on the outdoors. 

"I started walking, and getting out in nature saved my sanity during this time," says McGuinness. She realized an event to "celebrate life outside and give people experiences that matter" could provide opportunities locally. "I wanted to have fields, flat space for demonstrations, water."

Historic Hopkins Farm in Simpsonville, an over 200-acre property dating to the Revolutionary War, turned out to be the perfect location. She launched the inaugural event in 2022 with attendance of around 2,800 over three days; McGuinness hopes for 5,000 this year over the shortened two-day event. 

In 2023 she decided to focus on obtaining nonprofit 501(c)(3) status in preparation for this year's festival. "The mission is making it accessible to all – for people who would not be able to spend money on this stuff," she notes. Offering space for area nonprofits and groups related to education, health and activity she needed sponsorships and grants. "The only way to do that was by becoming a nonprofit." 

This year's event boasts an agenda chock-full of activities including disc golf, dog trails, slacklining (a low-height balancing training activity), running, biking, archery, and more. Food trucks, a conservation village and plenty of demos – from cooking to fishing and camping skills – and live music will add to the event's excitement. 

Sponsors besides Prisma/Roger C. Peace Rehabilitation Hospital include BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, BF Goodrich Tires, Greenville Water, Winnebago, Community Journals, Ember Glow Outdoor Resort, Indexx Printing, Kentwool, Mast General Store, Run In/HOKA, Salty Frye’s Golf Carts, Seamon Whiteside, South Carolina Federal Credit Union, South State, Subaru of Spartanburg, Torque Wheels, and Webb Development.

Tickets (single day $12 adults/weekend passes $20 with discounts for children, military and are seniors) are available online at EverythingOutdoorFest.com.