An exciting, new kickoff twist to Chenango County's premier performing and visual arts festival is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 6, 2014, and promises to add a tint of fun for area runners.

Aimed at both fundraising and increasing community participation for the twentieth annual Colorscape Chenango Arts Festival, the first-ever Color Dash is a “fun run” worked out along the streets of downtown Norwich, just prior to the opening of the weekend's festivities in East and West Parks.

For marathon runners, the run just got a whole lot more exciting. Combining the social aspect with the new pigment-bombing feature, the Color Dash promises to be an awesome experience.

“Nonprofits like Colorscape are always looking for new ways to keep the community engaged while raising funds to keep events,” said Norwich BID Executive Director and Colorscape volunteer Anne Coe.

Making their way across the United States, these types of brightly-hued athletic events are gaining in popularity and draw both seasoned runners and the everyday hobby runner alike. Runners in Colorscape’s Color Dash will not be officially timed, but the top three runners will be recognized, Coe said.

Often starting with a simple white t-shirt, runners are color-bombed throughout the course and end up looking like a pack of Skittles by the time they reach the finish line.