{"id":3832,"date":"2023-11-01T11:22:54","date_gmt":"2023-11-01T11:22:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/goldenbricksevents.com\/main\/2023\/11\/01\/hundreds-expected-at-bipoc-friendly-festival-in-king-county\/"},"modified":"2025-07-04T21:03:17","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T21:03:17","slug":"hundreds-expected-at-bipoc-friendly-festival-in-king-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goldenbricksevents.com\/main\/2023\/11\/01\/hundreds-expected-at-bipoc-friendly-festival-in-king-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds expected at BIPOC-friendly festival in King County"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

(This article is reposted from King5.com local news<\/a>.)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Refuge Outdoor Festival aims to show that outdoor recreation is for everyone, no matter your background or how you identify.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

CARNATION, Wash \u2014 Geared up and ready for her first ever solo backpacking trip, Chevon Powell was excited.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

But instead of focusing on the journey ahead at a park in Vermont, Powell, a Black woman, said she was pulled over by police as soon as she was on site.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“The police said it was unbelievable that I was in the outdoors,” Powell told KING. “It was one of the scariest moments of my life.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Powell said she knows there is a lack of diversity in outdoor recreation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent National Survey of Fishing, hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation,<\/a> only 5% of the more than 23 million participants who travel to enjoy the outdoors across the country are African American, Asian or another race.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

>> Download KING 5+, our new Roku and Amazon Fire apps, to watch live coverage 24\/7<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Powell could have let this incident change her view of the outdoors and her passion to explore.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“I took that and knowing my skills, I said, ‘let me do something to create a safer space for people that look like me to be connected to the outdoors,'” Powell said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Powell, who splits her time between Seattle and Houston, said this was how Refuge Outdoor Festival\u00a0<\/a>started five years ago. It’s a weekend-long outdoors event complete with camping, hiking, biking and a silent disco. It welcomes everyone with a welcoming invitation to members of the BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The festival takes place at King County\u2019s Tolt-MacDonald Park<\/a> Aug. 12-14<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n