Raleigh
Sep 8, 2016
For many, an introduction to nature and the outdoors came from a doting grandparent or other older relative. To honor those connections for National Grandparents Day, North Carolina State Parks is offering special programs Sept. 9-11 to encourage youngsters and their grandparents or surrogate grandparents, to rediscover the outdoors and each other.
The ranger-led programs cover topics as varied as grandparents' personalities. Enjoy fishing together at Jordan Lake State Recreation Area, Crowders Mountain State Park or Goose Creek State Park. Learn to make a kite and fly it at Haw River and Jockey's Ridge state parks. Fort Fisher State Recreation Area plans a beachcombing session, and Lake Waccamaw State Park will hold a scavenger hunt. There'll be many easy, educational hikes, and at Carvers Creek State Park, children and grandparents can discover canoeing together.
There are varying stories about the 1970s origin of National Grandparents Day - celebrated this year on Sept. 11 - but a presidential proclamation designated the first Sunday of September following Labor Day for the observance. A later presidential proclamation stated, "On National Grandparents Day, we give thanks to those who helped raise us and pay tribute to a generation that still inspires us toward brighter horizons."
A complete list of the National Grandparents Day programs at state parks can be found at www.ncparks.gov.
About the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation
The Division of Parks and Recreation manages more than 230,000 acres of iconic landscape within North Carolina's state parks, state recreation areas and state natural areas. It administers the N.C. Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, including its local grants program, as well as a state trails program, North Carolina Natural and Scenic Rivers and more, all with a mission dedicated to conservation, recreation and education. The state parks system welcomes more than 17 million visitors annually and celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2016.