Osprey is proud to announce that we will be attending the action-packed Dominion Riverrock Festival in Richmond, Virginia during the upcoming weekend of May 17-19. We’re super excited to be a part of the only festival of its kind, one that combines the best of both the outdoor adventure and the music worlds. Throughout the Fest, there will be endless competitions in biking, hiking, running and climbing, as well as performances by top notch artists such as Toots and the Maytals and many more!

Not only will there be on-going comps, music and fun, we’ll be there hosting our own events. One such activity will be the infamous Osprey Packs bola ball toss, which you can play to win a pack! All proceeds will be donated to the Blue Sky Fund, which makes your chance to win a pack that much better. We’ll also be selling packs in alliance with Blue Ridge Mountains Sports at a killer 20 percent off, and our very own Osprey Athlete Ben Clark will be guiding hikes with Virginia Trail Blazers and signing free posters throughout the weekend.

If you’re in the area and looking for a mind-blowing good time with loads of things to do, stop by our booth to check out the packs, get a poster or try your chance at bola ball for a good cause! Connect with the Fest on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and share the #riverrockrva love!

Bike, Events, Music Festivals, Osprey Athletes, Osprey Culture, Outdoor Activities, Retail Promotions, contest, travel ben clark, biking, Climbing, Dominion Riverrock, festival, hiking, music, Osprey Packs, outdoors, running, Virginia

The main stage in Telluride Town Park.

The 19th annual Telluride Blues and Brews music festival took place this last weekend and Osprey Packs was there as always to join in the fun.  This year was something special though and it wasn’t just because of the B-52’s, Gov’t Mule or the epic jamming of Phil Lesh and all of his friends.  It was because it was Talon the Osprey’s first attendance at a music festival and boy oh boy does that bird know how to get down!

I had a brief moment to ask Talon some questions about his experience…

Read more…

Events, Music Festivals, Southwest Colorado Colorado, music, Talon the Osprey, telluride, telluride blues and brews

Osprey is proud partner up with Floyd Fest for the first time this year. Floyd Fest is a world music and arts festival that rocks the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia each year, featuring an all-star line-up, including a few of our favorites like, Alison Krauss, Michael Franti, Jackson Browne, MarchFourth Marching Band and many more.

We’ll be on-hand to celebrate with festival goers, give away great gear and play games to support a great cause! Swing by the Osprey booth, say hello and check out some of the great things we’ll have rocking…

• Osprey Pack sales with everything priced at 20% off regular retail price in celebration of Floyd Fest
• Free expert advice, professional pack sizings and fittings all day, everyday
• Full display of all new 2012 Osprey gear
• Daily Osprey Pack giveaways
• Osprey is teaming up with Klean Kanteen for a game of Water Pong with all proceeds benefitting American Rivers

Music Festivals, Outdoor Activities, causes Alison Krauss, american rivers, festival, Floyd Fest, Jackson Browne, Michael Franti, music

If you look the definition of bluegrass up in a trusty ol’ Merriam-Webster dictionary you’ll see this:

country music played on unamplified stringed instruments (as banjo, fiddle, guitar, and mandolin) and characterized by free improvisation and close usually high-pitched harmony

What you won’t see in the dictionary or read in its definition is the heart, soul and spirit that goes into the music and the incredible celebrations that revolve around the music, such as the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, which is entirely dedicated to enjoying all that bluegrass is.

In its 39th year, the Telluride Bluegrass Festival coincided perfectly (and yet again) with the Summer Solstice, when the sun shines longer than any other day of the year and provides the perfect backdrop for days of musical delight. From Thursday, June 21 through Sunday, the 24, music began in the mid morning and lasted through to midnight, with a lineup of performers with a variety of roots and sounds. Second to last performer Glen Hansard performed on Sunday night; you can get a sample of his newest sounds by clicking on the video below:

Over 39 years, many other performers have brought their unique bluegrass styles to the stage. Via the Festival’s site:

“Since its very beginning, the festival has embraced a wide swath of roots music to create the unique genre of “Telluride Bluegrass.” Recent lineups have welcomed Robert Plant, Mumford & Sons, The Decemberists, Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, David Byrne, Ani DiFranco, Lyle Lovett, Ryan Adams, Counting Crows, Bonnie Raitt, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, and so many more.”

PHOTO Via: Planet Bluegrass’ Facebook page

Events, Music Festivals, Osprey Culture, video music, performers, summer solstice, telluride, telluride bluegrass festival

The Nor’easter powered by Eastern Mountain Sports in Burlington, Vermont is a 3-day celebration of outdoor culture showcasing the sports we play, the music we listen to, the food we eat, the beer we drink and the environmental issues we care about.

Osprey is a proud supporter of the festival and since the main event is coming at us in less than two weeks, we’ve decided to get our Facebook fans involved with the fun!

Here’s how you get involved:

• Visit both Osprey Packs and The Nor’easter on Facebook and “like” each page.
• Comment on this blog post when you do!

On September 19, we’ll pick one winner at random to win a host of awesome prizes! Here’s what’s up for grabs:

• 2 Osprey Vector 22 wheeled travel bags
• 2 Osprey Talon packs
• 2 Nor’easter festival passes

All so you and a friend can travel in style to the festival! Good luck!

Please note: The winner of this contest must be able to attend the Nor’easter festival this year, so please only enter if you’re excited and ready to travel to the festival. Travel and lodging is not covered by the festival pass.

PHOTO via

Events, Music Festivals, Product festival, gear giveaway, Nor'Easter

Unless you’ve been living in a deep, dark cave… You may have noticed that there is a lot of cool stuff going on out there. So, we thought it was high-time we started rounding up some of our faves each Friday. Every month, we’ll be choosing a theme that fits with the Osprey lifestyle. It’s September and we’re living it up for all we’re worth this month to take advantage of these last days of summer. What is crucial to living it up in style? A really great playlist… so we’re dedicating this month to music. Welcome to the Osprey Friday Round-Up!

One of our favorite late summer events is Telluride Blues and Brews, a festival just a hop, skip and a boogie north of us here at Osprey HQ. We’re psyched to be a returning sponsor of the event and even more psyched to head to the festival in a couple of weeks to throw down with some incredible musicians.

In anticipation of the festival, we’ve decided to giveaway a festival pass along with some sweet Osprey travel gear! All you have to do, is answer a few trivia questions…

Read more…

Events, Friday Round-up, Music Festivals contests, Events, gear giveaway, music, telluride blues and brews

Music on the Mountaintop is a one of a kind, ecologically driven large-scale music festival, offering first class entertainment as well as educational awareness on current environmental issues. Osprey is a proud sponsor of the festival and we look forward to throwing down each year!

This year we’ve decided to get our Facebook fans involved with the fun!

Here’s how you get involved:

• Visit both Osprey Packs and Music on the Mountaintop on Facebook and “like” each page.
• Comment on this blog post when you do!

On August 22, we’ll pick one winner at random to win a host of awesome prizes! Here’s what’s up for grabs:

• 2 Osprey Vector 22 wheeled travel bags
• 2 Osprey Talon packs
• 2 Music on the Mountaintop Festival AND Camping Passes

All so you and a friend can travel in style to the festival! Good luck!

Music Festivals, contest, travel contest, facebook, giveaway, music on the mountaintop, travel

You will find us here

The gates open today at 10:00 a.m. for the 38^th Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival and Osprey is excited to be a part of the action over the next four days! The weather is Colorado bluebird, the backdrop stunning mountain peaks and the music non-stop. Who could really ask for more!?

If you get a chance between sets be sure to carve out a moment to swing by Osprey festival headquarters to check out all that is new for summer 2011.We’ll also have some fantastically great deals on a full array of technical daypacks, couriers and hydration packs perfect for any festival and far beyond. This is the perfect time to set yourself up not only for the festival, but also for the active, outdoor summer and fall beyond. In addition to onsite deals, we will be providing free pack sizings and fittings throughout the festival.

We are a friendly bunch here for the same reasons you are: to have fun and enjoy live music and the outdoors, in a spectacularly beautiful setting! Please stop in and give us a holler while you enjoy the long weekend!

Here’s some good tunes to get you going…

Events, Music Festivals, Southwest Colorado Colorado, Events, music, telluride, telluride bluegrass festival

One of my favorite local events happens to also be one of my personal passions.  For eight years, I have volunteered for the Dolores River Festival, an event that  in simplest terms, connects our community with the river that runs through it.  There are raft rides, kayak races, river dog contests, a stellar music line-up, kids activities, food, libations, arts and crafts and much, much more.  The event is a project of Greater Dolores Action, a 501c3 that administers community based projects throughout our corner of Colorado.

One might surmise that I am an avid boatman or talented kayaker, but for the former I am lucky to catch a ride in someone’s raft and for the latter, I am only an “extreme duckier”.  So what draws me so much to this event?  In a word it is community.  This is where I step away from my work at Osprey and pour the same energy, some of the same skills and sweat into something that makes me equally as proud.  And as music coordinator fore the festival, I’m able to channel my former life as a professional musician.

More than anything,  I am so proud that celebrating the Dolores river underlines the commonalities in our diverse and sometimes divergent community.  Boaters want adequate flows on the lower Dolores, farmers and ranchers want their irrigation, townspeople desire the sanctuary of our river walk, and local, state and national environmental and government organizations all want a seat at the table to determine the future of this special river.

If you’re anywhere near Dolores – get on down here.  This has truly become one of the best festivals in an area chock full of amazing festivals.  If you’re not, come next year.  The Dolores River Festival is destined to grow and with it the compassion for, restoration and stewardship of the river.

Gareth Martins

Director Of Marketing

Osprey Packs

Conservation, Events, Music Festivals, Outdoor Activities, Southwest Colorado

Ah, the leaves are turning and air is turning cool and crisp here in the San Juan Mountains.  So it is time for our last right of summer, the Telluride Blues & Brews Festival, a three-day weekend chance to unplug while plugging in to some seriously good music and microbrews.  As the weather tends to be just a bit fickle in the San Juans, this “last right” is more often than not punctuated by thunderstorms, hail, snow and a resultantly prolific amount of mud.

Not so at this year’s festival.  Temps in the seventies, not a cloud in the sky and an ever so light breeze made for an incredible weekend.  Our booth in vendor row had a great view of the stage and all the goings on.  Our beer coozies were wrapped around nearly every complimentary beer glass.   Our friends from Jagged Edge had a great selection of our packs for sale and there was plenty to peruse from the entire Osprey line.

Which brings me to the point, who doesn’t carry a pack to a festival?  It’s an essential survival tool helping you haul shelter, suncreen, food, and layers of clothing for whatever the elements may throw out.  Plus a whole lot more.  Now, everyone has their favorite system and their favorite festival. We want to know what yours is.  How big a pack do you carry?  What are the key survival items inside?  And we especially want to know what musicians inspired you the most – where did you get your groove on and why?

Send your story to marketing@ospreypacks.com between now and October 15, 2010.  We’ll post our favorites on this blog and we’ll send each winner my favorite festival pack, the Stratos 24.  Panel loading, durable frame survives clumsy fellow festivarians, built-in raincover protects from the elements and LOTS of hidden nooks and crannies for those extra important items.  Ahem.

Happy fall,

Gareth Martins
Director of Marketing, Osprey Packs

Events, Music Festivals, Southwest Colorado, contest