Will was my son.  He is a guest on For the Time We're here . He was an amazing person, a talented song writer and a best friend and I miss him every day. Here is his story and the legacy left behind. My sweet boy, I love you.

About Will Hoxie and the Big Flat Jamboree

The Big Flat Jamboree, river festival was the idea of Will Hoxie. Will was a river guide and a kayaker who worked and lived in Big Flat California. Will traveled extensively but always returned to the Trinity River. He named this event in honor of the place he loved so deeply. Will studied Outdoor Recreational Leadership at Feather River College and worked with the Plumas Resource Conservation District. In his early years he served as a firefighter with the Shasta Trinity National Forest. He stood with a hand full of others and defended Big Flat when the Monument Fire burned through in 2021.

Will loved adventure, he was warm and funny, a wonderful song writer and guitar player, a natural teacher and an adept fuels management technician. He was also an expert kayaker and a requested river guide. He was highly regarded in the white-water community. Will was tragically lost on the Kern River in 2023. Will Hoxie was twenty-five years old and a member of the American Canoe Association and American White Water.

After Wills accident his family and friends with the assistance of local river companies and the Forest Service, decided to make the Big Flat Jamboree a reality. Will had already started the permit process. We took it from where he left off. We all agreed that his legacy should be to continue to spread his joy of community and white water. Community building was one of Will’s natural gifts. With this effort many doors opened. We are starting to see connections and networks being formed and strengthened by the Jamboree.

We believe Will continues to be a powerful force here in the North State. In the last two years we have raised and donated 15,500 and dispersed that money across different organizations. This includes youth from Paddle Tribal Waters, Nor Cal Clean and Sober White Water, Dream Quest, Trinity Search and Rescue, Feather River College Foundation, Siskiyou Klamath Watershed Council, and Trinity Animal Rescue, and Whiskeytown Outdoor School. We feel that the dust that Will kicked up in his brief walk among us should never fully settle.