Celebration of Spring

Here are some pictures of Holly's Snake Program and pontoon boat rides for the Celebration of Spring. Thanks to Mary Cole for sending them.

We had a wonderful Celebration of Spring this year! The attendance was fantastic with at least 300 attendees! The hikes, nature walks, crafts, games and other activities were all very well attended and lots of enthusiastic participation. Our entertainment was great again. Patricia Jackson did a Minnie Pearl impersonation and sang a variety of country and popular songs. The Flat Broke bluegrass band performed some lively numbers as well. The Cannon Arts Dance Studio had the ballet class of youngsters do the May Pole dance and performed some other routines. They also led the Bunny Hop with a lot of volunteer participants...including Ranger Ramble, the Tennessee State Parks mascot. Holly's snake program was very well received and she introduced some new members of the snake family...Including a large Boa Constrictor. The observation tower was busy all day with people climbing it. We awarded the prizes for the coloring contest...Here are the winners...

The contestants were 4th Graders from Baxter and Gordonsville Elementary Schools. These young people did a great job of coloring their choice of birds, mammals, reptiles and butterflies. Their time and effort has been rewarded by a cash prize for each category...ranging from $25.00 for first place down to $5.00 each for 5th place to honorable mention. We appreciate the participation from the kids and the cooperation from the schools...

This is the best attended Celebration of Spring we have ever had. We already have plans in motion for next year. The Celebration of Spring is an annual event and takes place on the second Saturday of April each year. Next years date will be April 14...

A heart felt "Thank You" to all the volunteers from the Friends, Tennessee Trails Association, Girl Scouts, Park Staff and all others who contributed to this fun filled and wonderful day!

This public event is free but donations to The Friends of Edgar Evins State Park, Inc. will be welcome - 100% of all donations will be used for future events and to enhance the park. Let us know if you are interested in joining our Friends group so you can help make a difference too.

*All hikers meet and sign up at Visitors Center. Then we can arrange car pools to the trail heads if necessary.

Any Time At Visitors Center - Visit Nature Center, see a crystals display and the coloring contest entries, see a Living History Demonstration of old time spinning, have your face or hand painted. (For all ages)

*8:00 AM (Group I), 9 AM (Group II), 11 AM (Group III) – Nature Walks (Bird, Butterfly, & Wild Flower Identification) on Highland Rim Nature Trail with Mark Taylor, Park Ranger or Randy Hedgepath, TN State Naturalist (binoculars recommended) (For adults, teens and & older children accompanied by an adult - Allow 1 ½ to 2 hours on the 1.5 miles hilly trail] Meet at Visitors Center

8 AM to 2:00 PM – Live Entertainment “on stage” at Visitors Center: (For all ages)

Cannon Arts Dance Studio, Woodbury, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM – Tiny tots will

*9 AM – *Short Nature Walk led by Holly Taylor, Park Naturalist, for ages 4-6, Daisy Scouts, and their adults. Will require car pooling. Meet at Visitors Center

Starting at 9 AM – Ending 12 Noon: Crafts Workshop: Allow 1 to 2 hours during this time to make a corn shuck doll or a honeysuckle basket. ((For adults, teens and older children accompanied by an adult) Next to Camper’s Check-in

10 AM – Baxter and Gordonsville Elementary Schools 4^th Graders Coloring Contest Prize Winners Pictures Taken and Prizes Awarded at Visitors Center

*10 AM to about 12 noon - Egg Hike on Millennium Trail, a 3 ½ mile moderately difficult family friendly hike for the more adventurous. Six prize eggs will be hidden along the trail that may be redeemed for prizes at the Visitors Center after completion of the hike. Car pooling may be required. Led by TTA members. (For older children, teens, and adults) Meet at Registration Desk at Visitors Center

10 AM - 11 AM - 2 PM – 3 PM - Pontoon Boats Rides for adults and children over 3, accompanied by an adult - Courtesy Dock)

1:45 PM - Potato Sack and 3-Legged Races at the Peninsula near Courtesy Dock – For school aged children and teens)

2:45 PM (or following the races - Ssssnakes! Program - Holly Taylor, Seasonal Naturalist – (For the adventurous of all ages), Next to Campers Check-in

For more information contact the park office at 1-800-250-8619 or (931) 858-2114 or Fount Bertram, President of The Friends of Edgar Evins State Park, Inc., at 615-765-5357

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The Celebration of Spring 2010 was an unqualified success! We had an outstanding attendance. All the programs were well attended and everyone seemed to have a good time. The winners of the coloring contest all showed up with their families and loved the cash prizes we gave them. Winners were...Samuel Carter, First place...Kaitlyn Ballard, Second place...Caitlin Toner, Third place...Jasmine Long. Fourth place and Clay Mahan, Fifth place. This was the first year for the coloring contest and we used the 4th grade at Baxter Elementary for the trial run. We are looking at expanding the contest for future events. A big "Thank You!" to all the contestants...it made the Visitors Center a colorful place with all your entries posted on the wall! The Minnie Pearl impersonator...Patricia Jackson...added a touch of humor and provided some good entertainment. She did an excellent job and says she wants to come back next year.

Holly was a big hit with the snakes and the kids of all ages enjoyed her outstanding program. The basket making and corn husk doll making session was filled up and a lot of creative designs came out of that class. The "old fashioned" games were a lot of fun for both participants and spectators. We had a lot of kids competing in the sack races and the three legged races...Interesting that none of the kids had ever done either before...Our intentions were to show them that you can have fun and get a lot of exercise at the same time. Our theme has been to promote outside activities for our kids...Juvenile obesity is a real concern on our country and we want to do our part to provide alternatives to computer games and television. The observation tower was popular all day long with kids and adults climbing it. Carl's black powder gun and fire using flint and steel demonstrations were well received. He did an excellent job with both...Ranger Ramble...the Tennessee State Park mascot...thrilled the youngsters with his performances.

The pontoon boat rides were very popular and every trip was filled to capacity. Kids and adults alike enjoyed the face painting by Mary... The weather was perfect with sunny skies and warm temperatures...If you weren't there you missed a great day at the park! Our heart felt THANKS! to all the Friends that helped with the successful completion of this wonderful day! Our date for next year will be April 9. 2011...Mark your calendar now so you will be sure not to miss it!

Enjoy the pictures...click on them to enlarge them...Use your back button to return to the program...

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Here are some pictures from this years Celebration of Spring April 11, 2009. The weather was not ideal...It started with drizzle, fog and cool temperatures. Conditions improved somewhat as the day went on and everyone had a good time. The Easter Bunny was there all day and entertained kids of all ages.

The day included face painting, egg hunts, a program with live snakes, pontoon boat rides, hikes, bird walks, wildflower walks and butterfly identification walks.

Even with less than ideal weather conditions we had over 100 brave souls show up for the activities. We will hope for better conditions next year as we continue to expand and improve this event. Here are some comments by participants...

Dear Mrs. Bertram: I hope that you can open these pictures however if you can't let me know and I will make some copies and send to you. We again wish to thank you for the wonderful day of fun activities that you provided for us and other children. A great time was had by all of us even though the day started out cold and wet. We met another Girl Scout Troop ( Brownies) out of White House, TN, got some pictures with them, but due to privacy laws and etc we're not permitted to release pictures without their consent from leaders and parents. We know it's okay with our leaders and parents so that's why sending ours.

Vicki A Fadeley

I think that despite the dreary weather that our Celebration of Spring was a success! The attendance for my programs alone was 69. Thank you to all of you for your planning and hard work! I look forward to next year as we continue to enhance and develop this event. Thanks again!

Holly

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