Oh what a beautiful season! Oh what a beautiful day! Begin this most glorious time of year by attending the annual Celebration of Spring at Edgar Evins State Park on Center Hill Lake, Saturday, April 12th from 8 A.M. to 4;00 P.M. This is a FREE outdoor event sponsored by the Friends of Edgar Evins State park and park employees for families and individuals. Bring a lunch, maybe some lawn chairs too, and plan to stay for the day or drop by for a few hours. if you don’t bring a lunch there will be light concessions for sale by the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.
Registration will start at 8 A.M. in front of the Visitors Center for all but most importantly for the 8:30 A.M. nature hike (wildflowers, birds, bees, and more) with the Tennessee State Naturalist, Randy Hedgepath, and for boat rides throughout the day. These offerings are available on a first come, first serve basis. (Children must be over 3 years of age and accompanied by an adult to ride on the boats.)
Youngsters and fit adults can’t resist climbing the stairs to the observation tower. Inside the Visitors Center are also exhibits depicting nature, the park history, and activities of the Friends group. Ramble, the TN State Park mascot, will make an appearance during the morning. Ramble loves getting his picture taken with kids and the young at heart.
There will be other guided nature hikes, a regular 2 1/2 mile hike led by the TN Trails Association on the Millennium Trail, face painting, cookie decorating, Dutch Oven cooking demonstrations by Boy Scout Troop 875, crafts making hosted by Girl Scout Troop 1146, sack and 3-legged races with prizes, kite flying, wild animal shows and other live entertainment. Entertainment will include Smithville’s gospel singing Fuson family, The Mockingbirds bluegrass and folk group from Cookeville, the local Flat Broke bluegrass band, Patricia “Minnie Pearl” Jackson from Nashville, clog and ballet dancers from Cannon Arts Dance Studio in Woodbury, and Bob Tarter and his animals of the NHECM Wildlife Program. (Remember BeeBop the baby bobcat from last year? Come see how much he’s grown!)
In addition to prizes for the 3-legged and sack races there will be a prize for the closest number guessed for the candies in a jar. The prize will be a one day free rental of a canoe or kayak and a sack lunch for two from Caney Fork Outdoors and Big Rock Market, located across from the park entrance. Big Rock Market will be open for breakfast biscuits and lunch sandwiches the day of the Celebration of Spring.
This will be the first year we have invited people to exhibit their show cars in the marina parking lot next to the picnic shelters. Cars may exhibit anytime from 8 A.M. to 4 P.M. without charge or reservations. Greg Christensen, Woodbury, is the car show consultant. He says driving there on the hills and curves is a big part of the fun. Premium gasoline without ethanol will be available at Big Rock Market across from the park entrance.
Fount Bertram, Bradyville, President of Friends of Edgar Evins State park says “This is our gift to the community for its continued support of our park and our Friends group in its purpose of helping the park.”
Located on beautiful Center Hill Lake between Cookeville and Smithville, the park address is 1630 Edgar Evins Park Road, Silver Point, TN 38582. For more information contact Fount Bertram, President at fwbertram@dtccom.net or phone the park office at (931) 858-2114 or 1-800-250-8619, ext. 107 or 102. The Friends of Edgar Evins State Park new website (under construction) is at www.foeesp.alturl.com and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/friendsofeesp The schedule of activities will be posted on Facebook as it develops
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